


The You In Me

by JamlessGenius



Category: Lost in Translation (Webcomic)
Genre: Affection, Aftermath, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bodyswap, Developing Friendships, Discovering Truths, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Crack, Friendship, Hot Chocolate, Inferiority Complex, Kissing in the Rain, Late Night Conversations, M/M, Male Friendship, Media Plays, Pining, Running From The Cops, Screaming Off Of Rooftops, Secrets, Sexual Harassment, Sharing Clothes, Sharing a Bed, Showering our baby with love, jjolee supremacy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-26
Updated: 2020-07-19
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:47:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 23,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24922540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JamlessGenius/pseuds/JamlessGenius
Summary: Lee Minsoo wakes up in Ahn Jaewon’s body.Ahn Jaewon wakes up in Lee Minsoo’s body.They learn a couple of things along the way.
Relationships: Ahn Jaewon | Wyld & Kang Dongho | D. Min, Ahn Jaewon | Wyld & Kim Daehyun (Lost In Translation- Webcomic), Ahn Jaewon | Wyld & Lee Minsoo, Ahn Jaewon | Wyld & MAYHEM Ensemble (Lost In Translation- Webcomic), Ahn Jaewon | Wyld/Lee Minsoo
Comments: 42
Kudos: 116





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This characterization of Minsoo was very difficult to write.  
> I find that Minsoo is super complex and built on contradictions and if/else specifications. He’s quick to voice a complaint or what he’s feeling, and will rage easily- but when it come to anything heavy it gets bottled up. There’s a childishness and sense of fun, but also a well-hidden maturity that reminds you that he isn’t actually a makane. Minsoo’s really not dumb at all. In the CANVAS version, you can see that he got a lot of good grades (even if he felt like it was never enough to compare to his brother- and his subtle inferiority complex was also something I didn’t expect to touch on). I don’t want to write Minsoo as immature or anything- because I get the feeling that he really isn’t.  
> He’s incredibly driven and fiery, quick to respond, and a little on the impulsive side.  
> I want a friend like Minsoo TBH.

Waking up in an unfamiliar place was terrifying. White walls, pictures of MAYHEM on them. Was he kidnapped? Was this a sasaeng? 

It was surreal, looking around the room. His balance felt off- had he been  _drugged_ ?! 

The apartment he was in was empty, and based on the clothes in the drawers that he’d dared poke through- belonged to a male. He snuck around, aiming not to get caught by any camera or animal or trigger or anything. Video game logic _ was too _ relevant- take _that_ , Dongho hyung!

A buzz sounded, drawing his attention to a phone.

There was a screen, the wallpaper a picture of them that he hadn’t known was released, with his name in white characters.

“Minsoo-Hyung”

Carefully, gingerly, he picked up.

“Minsoo-hyung... it is you, right?” A worried voice sounded over the other end. A worried voice that sounded an awful lot like his own voice.

“What’s going on?” His voice came out oddly, sounding eerily different.

“It’s Jaewon. Okay, okay. This makes absolutely no sense- you know what? Don’t move.” Frustration erupted.

“The door is unlocked and I’ve been  _kidnapped_ ! What do you mean, ‘don’t move’?!”

“I think- I think you’re in my house. Do you see a mirror? T-there’s always one in a bathroom.”

With light steps and occasional grabs at the wall to keep from stumbling (why was he so clumsy today?), he carried the phone with him until he found a bathroom. The apartment he was in was furnished, but with few personal touches beyond the photos in the bedroom. The silence was almost eerie.

The stalker must have taken the wrong member, though. Based on the picture of Wyld in the bathroom above the sink-

Wait.

That... wasn’t a picture. 

_ Why was breathing so difficult was he hyperventilating he felt like he was this wasn’t his face what was- _

“Hyung! You need to breathe. Look, I’ve been up and I’m on my way. Promise I’m wearing a mask. Don’t. Move.”

Ignoring the slightly commanding tone from a dongsaeng, he agreed, horrified eyes tracing his- _Jaewon’s_ \- reflection. 

_ What the fuck? _

Jaewon had his own horrifying morning and subsequent panic attack of “how was this real life,” but knowing their much quicker-to-action leader was probably manning his body, he needed to keep a cool head. So he’d only panicked a little and tried not to think too hard that it was not his own body that he was handling and going about daily things with. It wasn’t unlike how he addressed his alter-ego, trying not to think. He just had to power through this for long enough before he started to think because once he started he didn’t sto-

He still bolted, mask and cap covering any traces of identity, punching in codes so fast that his- Minsoo’s- fingernails almost bent and bolted into his apartment.

Taking off the mask, they stared at each other.

“This is so strange,” he breathed, running his fingers over his face with another person’s mind behind it. Minsoo hyung didn’t fight it, processing this for himself, clearly having fully yelled himself out.

“Our schedule is clear today, isn’t it?” His own voice asked but it wasn’t him asking.

“For you guys- I was supposed to have anoth-“

“ _ Another _ meeting? How many times have you had these?”

A coil of shame made its way down his spine. The others were happier if they didn’t know the truth- but it meant destroying any good perceptions of him. A sacrifice he’d made, and to this day forced himself to remember that it was worth it. Because of moments like these.

“Look,” he pleaded, “just call in sick. He doesn’t like having conversations with me over the phone. You really don’t need to sit through th-“

“Stop,” Minsoo hyung groaned. “I’ll go to the meeting, and I won’t make big deal about this.”

Panic flashed through Jaewon. He couldn’t let the elder (now younger?) attend that meeting. Sometimes the meetings went well, and the CEO told him good job and asked what was necessary to wipe away any alibis. Other times... the memories of being forced to kneel and beg, of a foot on his head, memories of ridicule and open threats flashed through his mind. He wanted them to be happy- he couldn’t just-

“Or message the manager hyung through your phone that both of us caught something and we’re very much  _resting_ -“ Jaewon tried.

“Our driver very much wouldn’t care. I’m going- I’m curious what goes on at those super secret meetings of yours,” a childish smirk wove its way across Minsoo’s - his- face. Gosh, what an odd look on him. But that wasn’t what the problem was. 

He couldn’t! Not after... not after he’d publicly turned down a well-liked idol on live television. Memories of the meeting after disagreeing to date Minyoung were brilliant warning signs. 

“Please don’t,” he tried. The look he recived told him in his bones that he’d failed.

It wasn’t a secret that Wyld had a lot of meetings. It could be waved off as him having lot of scandals, some (by _some_ he means Dongho hyung) even theorizing that the meetings were covering up even more, but Minsoo was curious. He’d always been the curious one, because as much as he followed his instincts he wasn’t his olde- 

Minsoo cut off the train of thought with a different one.

There was something in Jaewon’s desperation for him not to know that spurred his curiosity further. Was he embarrassed about those meeting or was there something else? As a leader- no matter how little the title actually meant to the group dynamic- he needed to be in the _know._

“I’m not going to make fun of you right now,” he tried. Jaewon continued his- highly suspicious- protests.

“R-really! Don’t worry about i-“

A text from the CEO.

“I sent a taxi. And I expect you not to skip this meeting for practice like the last time you did this.”

He ambled towards the door, Jaewon’s phone in hand.

“If it gets bad, I’ll text you an SOS under the table. Your body needs to be there or you’re gonna get in trouble- and since I’m the one currently manning the controls, I gotta go.”

He closed the door on another round of softly spoken protests.

The taxi was quiet, and so was his ambling up to the office. Like his auditions and interviews, he ran through what he needed to do. Jaewon apologized for almost everything, but he almost never started the conversation. At least, he paused, memories of scandals coming to mind, not to anyone in the company.   
He waved it off- right now, he needed to hold the illusion that nothing had happened, even if there was something telling him that he should run the other way when he looked at the CEO’s demeanor. 

“Wyld, I’m disappointed. Again.”

This would be where Jaewon would probably apologize, right?

“I-“

“Last time you cost us profit by not letting that photo with that Marshmell-O girl go public and refusing to date her, and now you turn down a girl again?!” The CEO cut him off.

...what?

“I told you last time that any profit I lose on your scandals- I can easily add to MAYHEM’s debt. I don’t know if I’ll let you off by begging this time.”

Minsoo called on every inch of his child actor past to reign in his response, and stood quietly.   
Was that these meetings? Threats and being told to put himself into positions he didn’t want?  
Minsoo wasn’t his brother and he was playful- but he wasn’t stupid. This wasn’t the first and wouldn’t be the last. Jaewon had known that this would happen, and he had pleaded in the weak way he did whenever there was something that bothered the ever-silent redhead to actually open his mouth and speak against something or someone. 

The CEO gave him the most menacing look that Minsoo had ever seen.

“I want another scandal by Friday. If I don’t see something, I’ll double the missing profit I could have brought in by a relationship with that idol and add to the debt. Everyone’s debt.”

Friday? That was... that was _tomorrow_.

“You’re dismissed.”

It took all of his self-restraint not to bolt.


	2. Chapter 2

Jaewon paced, anxiety thrumming in nerves that weren’t technically his. It was foolish to believe that Minsoo didn’t know. Had he been threatened? He hadn’t known what to do- had he made the CEO angry? 

He cursed his inability to  _just speak up for once._

If he had, Minsoo wouldn’t know a thing and be in a dangerous position for all the members. If he had, things wouldn’t have gotten this far. He resisted to urge to bite at the skin beneath his nail, fighting memories of childhood bullies knowing he never said a thing or the CEO choosing him for what was probably the same reason. 

“So, that’s why you didn’t want me going, huh?” Jaewon startled at the sound of Minsoo using his voice. There was an edge he wasn’t familiar with.

The leader of the group’s tone was deadly serious.

“You’re telling me everything. From start to finish.”

Jaewon opened his mouth. Then he closed it. 

“What’s there to say?”

“He gave you a deadline, y’know. Tomorrow.”

Jaewon paled.

“What did he say?”

“Yelled at me- you? us?- for turning down girls and made a threat on MAYHEM’s debt. He also mentioned something about Marshmell-O,” his own voice said those words, holding an impatience behind them. “When was this?”

The room felt colder, Jaewon noticed, drawing his blanket around him.

“When we met up with Marshmell-O... Minyoung-ssi...”

“Weren’t you the one acting a little weird with her?” He received a flat look. 

The memories alone made discomfort wrap its telltale chill around Jaewon’s- Minsoo’s?- stomach. He bit his lip and replied like there was nothing bothering him.

“Hyung, do you not know what flirting looks like? She confronted me in the restroom and kissed me against my will.”

“Why add the ‘against my will’?” The question was shot immediately. Jaewon sighed, and answered blankly.

“I didn’t want it. And I didn’t want to date her when the companies discussed releasing a photo someone caught.”

“So when you turned down another girl openly asking... in front of an audience...” Minsoo caught on.

“Did he- did he...” Jaewon tried to ask but his heart was beating too loudly in his ears. He couldn’t ask. He just  _ couldn’t _ . He couldn’t will the mouth that wasn’t his to move just like he couldn’t will his own. Memories of humiliation and the first tears in years closed his mouth like glue. 

Minsoo watched anxiety wrack his own face, as the shyest member fidgeted with the edge of the blanket. Jaewon wanted to say something- so why wasn’t he?

Was there even more to this disturbing picture?

Minsoo wasn’t the type to get legitimately angry. He would be open about frustration, but genuine upset? He bottled that sh- stuff right up.

And he wasn’t dumb enough to not notice another person doing the same thing when there was obvious evidence. He was kicking himself for not noticing earlier- his brother would have- but there was something more pressing. Minsoo wasn’t the most subtle, so he bluntly asked.

“Did the CEO do what, exactly?”

“D- did h-he- never mind. That’s not the priority right now.”

That was deflecting, like a bad visual novel dialogue. Minsoo liked video games, but visual novels weren’t something he liked spending his limited free time on. He wasn’t letting go so easily, they would be talking about this again.

“And what is?”

“Getting our own bodies back so I can appear somewhere I shouldn’t and hit the news again.” Jaewon’s response made him blink in surprise, which wasn’t really all too uncommon on their meekest member’s face, but he was the one behind it. 

“And if we don’t manage to on time?” Minsoo challenged, knowing that they wouldn’t be able to in time. 

“I need you to swear-“

“Fuck.”

“...I meant, like, promise.” The cuss word was making Jaewon blush and squirm- which meant that he was basically watching himself be uncomfortable. Awkward...

“Promise what?”

“Not to go on my behalf. I don’t want you to have to deal with the way people-“ and Jaewon cut himself off. “Just don’t put yourself in a situation you’ll be unhappy in.”

“And you think I want you to?” Minsoo was almost horrified to hear frustration in a voice that typically came with the person he’d always thought incapable of it. But it was him speaking. “Listen, all I have to do is stand there, maybe order a drink, and leave, right? I don’t want you getting in trouble on my behalf, and there’s no other option.” 

Jaewon had tried to stop him. But he was too weak- he was always too weak, to stop anyone from putting themselves in places they don’t want to be in. He was always too weak to tell people a firm no. He was weak and it was something he hated. He hated that he buckled under people. He sat, eyes frantically scanning twitter, for proof that nothing had gone wrong. Nothing could go wrong- or they were screwed- ruined. His moments of bravery ended in humiliation or worse and every choice he made was dangerous. 

_ Click!  _ That was his door lock. He stood to see his own body stumble in, not drunk but weary, Minsoo’s mind behind his own face. The eerieness hadn’t worn off about it. He awkwardly- wasn’t everything he did?- shifted his weight.

“Hi.”

“Hey, yourself.” 

“How was it?” He tried to keep his tone neutral, but Minsoo’s emotive voice caught a tinge of his thrumming nervousness. If he thought about it- he knew that Minsoo was the most expressive- and as someone living in his body for the time being, Jaewon can testify that it’s down to his cells.

“Can I not talk about it?” His ears perked at the discomfort in his hyung’s tone. Minsoo hyung rarely did keep his emotions from discussion- always the first to respond. He was the fiery one of the group. If he didn’t want to talk about it and still had such an expression- Jaewon cut off the train of thought. There was a lot he didn’t want to talk about, himself.

“Yeah, you don’t have to. Why swing back at my place?” The question made him want to bite his own tongue- but this was Minsoo’s tongue so he refrained. 

“I figured faking a sleepover would make it less awkward as to why we weren’t sleeping where we should be.”

“Oh,” was all he said.

“Do you mind if I take your couch for the night? Figured I should formally ask,” the older member sighed.

It startled a laugh out of him, Minsoo’s own laughter as his mouthpiece. 

“Don’t- you can take my bed.”

“Wha- it’s your house! No way!”

“It’s no big deal-“

“Yah, I’m your hyung, you should listen to me.”

“If you’re my  _ hyung _ , shouldn’t you take the bed?”

“Yah! I’m not  _ old _ !”

“The couch is small,” he protested. It was a bit surprising, considering he’d protested today more than he normally did in a month. 

“If I sleep on the bed, you’re sleeping with me.” Minsoo’s tone was firm- sounding funny with Jaewon’s voice. But that was that, he watched the older member, the same weariness as before, as they lay under his covers. Gently, as to not wake him, Jaewon smoothed out the wrinkled brow.

What had happened, at that nightclub? 

It worried him. There was a lot that his hyungnim knew that he shouldn’t- but he should never have let him force his way into a night like he let himself be. The nauseating feeling of the smells, the people, the crowds that were so tight around him that he couldn’t breathe. The way every object that was normal in the day- in the outside world- felt like it held a different shape and texture in the room. The clamoring and writhing mass of people making their own noise alongside the loud and pervasive music. 

Then there were the things beyond sensation. The nerves that made him cover his glass, always keeping an eye on it. The people looking him up and down, flirting with him and trying to take the ultimate no string guy for at least a night. Maybe for more and take a conquest.   
Because that’s what he was supposed to look like- a challenge, an object to try to attain. 


	3. Chapter 3

Minsoo’s mind was reeling. 

To dress up and just stand there seemed like such a simple task. He’d thought he’d looked good for someone who’d never been in a club before.

The situation was not as simple as it had sounded. 

The place had looked fun, really, dancing and music and socialization. But he knew that Jaewon wouldn’t dance in that crowd, and tonight he was Jaewon. Ordering a water and sitting there, long enough for him to notice a person or two take out a phone and snap a picture. He had just watched the dancing, water in hand, feeling all too aware of the eyes that roamed his body. It made him feel... almost dirty. 

Three girls and a guy had tried to buy him a drink, eyes promising something else. He’d turned them down coolly, trying to keep the expressions he used on stage. It was incredibly tempting to yell at them to get away from him. Minsoo exercised his self-restraint in only the worst situations (he pointedly ignored the voice in his head saying that his brother would have had stopped himself easily) and this was painful. He wanted to run. It wasn’t comfortable, and he found himself glancing at his water, covering it when his eyes weren’t on it. How many horror stories were there with drugged drinks?

He’d thought this would be fun. It wasn’t. 

The protesting last time had put him an a bad situation, the protesting again put him in a worse one. Jaewon knew. About all of this. How often did he have to quietly endure?

He was almost afraid of doing anything in Jaewon’s life if the younger told him against it. 

That night as they lay in bed, another protest that had spilled from his own lips by someone else’s volition, he was worried. Anxiety and the crawling discomfort that he knew wouldn’t be cleaned with the shower water but he’d scrubbed so desperately anyway- it was something. At this point there was so little he actually had to go on, and while he wanted to trust his gut and go with his instincts the way he normally did, this wasn’t a situation that he could. Even now, drawing back to the softly made protests, spoken in ways that simply conjured the meeker idol to his mind’s eye, there was anxiety pressing at his chest. Wa there something else? Another thing that Minsoo had missed?

He was in a scientifically impossible situation and didn’t know how to fix it. He was sleeping next to the member who said nothing and endured too much. If the weariness of all the anxiety hadn’t knocked him out, he’d have stayed awake to just contemplate how the world put him in too many situations he didn’t know the answers to.

  
  


It was the middle of the night when a voice startled him from his ceiling-staring.

“Are you awake?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Is it always like that?”

“Like what?” Jaewon hazarded. 

“People looking at you in ways that make you feel like a thing? A challenge? Something to take like a trophy and put on a shelf?” Guilt ripped through his own voice like Jaewon had been the one to speak. He hadn’t wanted Minsoo to see it. He’d seen too much, too many of his secrets were open to the leader of the group. Could things return back to their normal if Minsoo knew, now? But at this point, he couldn’t keep secrets anymore. Not from the elder member with an eye sharper than he ever admitted to. He just collected his strength and told the truth.

“Always.”

“Hey, Jaewon?”

“Yeah?”

“I don’t want you to deal with that. Why did you deal with that?” There was a hitch in his own voice that Jaewon couldn’t catch and he responded, honestly. Here he was, just telling a truth because he couldn’t lie. That had never been an option, it was always the opposite. This was so new, but not. It took him back to when he was a little kid and his mom scolded him before giving him a pat on the cheek and a cookie. An old feeling that he’d long forgotten, feeling very new coming from his hyung. Reminiscent of the love his mother gave him.

“Because those eyes are numbers under our videos. Those eyes and flashes and comments are media attention.”

“It’s not good press, though. It’s not healthy for a career anyway- so why?” There was tremble, one Jaewon had when he was holding himself back from crying. Why was Minsoo so torn up on his behalf? How often  were people upset on his behalf?

“The CEO wanted it. I can’t do anything against him while we still have debt.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

It faded into silence for a little while.

“Hyung?” His voice trembled was he broke the silence, cracking the thin layer of calm. 

“Yeah?”

“Why are you being so nice about all of this?” He tried to keep a wobble from his tone, and finally succeeded at controlling something about his actions. He wanted to know- he’d lied about himself and separated from the others. He’d poisoned the group dynamic and let the others find the topic of him a taboo. Why wasn’t Minsoo angry at him? But still, with all that- they could still smile so happily without knowing the truth. Now that he had-

“I could ask you the same thing.”

What?

“What?”

Sheets rustled and Jaewon looked over to see Minsoo- well, him, and it wouldnever not be creepy- looking him in the eye.

“We let you feel like an outsider, and didn’t think of how uncomfortable the scandals must have made you. I didn’t even know how miserable you were until today.”

He’d let Minsoo end up where he was, somewhere that he let himself fall into. Looking away, a familiar bitter and icy feeling let itself in. 

“I just don’t learn, do I?”

“Hey- stop speaking badly about yourself!”

He shook his- Minsoo’s- head. 

“I always put myself in situations that let me end up in positions where I just can’t open my darn mouth. And-“

“Whoa,” a voice cut him off. Amusement colored the tone with a playful color. He blinked and looked over.

“What?”

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard you come close to a curse before.”

With a laugh from the elder, Jaewon found himself in a hug. 

“Ah- hyung!”

“C’mere. Listen up, you’re valid, what you’ve been through is trash and nobody should have to put up with it. And if you can’t open your mouth- come to me and I’ll do it.”

Jaewon couldn’t help it, he giggled.

“You’ll open my mouth?”

The heartbeats against his ear went double time and he looked up to see his hyung genuinely red. He’d stumbled on his own words and made a silly implication, how funny.

“I meant that if you have trouble complaining, I can complain for you.”

“Yeah, hyung’s good at that,” Jaewon teased.

“Why, you! Yah! You little brat!” The elder sat up and began his enraged rant that Jaewon did not listen to at all.

Minsoo’s enraged ranting fell into giggles. And Jaewon found himself joining, a warmth blossoming in his chest. For right now- in the mess of confusing webs and impossible anomalies that made up his situation, everything was okay.

In that moment, the moon was so full, that it made one want to cry.

Minsoo woke up in Jaewon’s body the next morning. Said body owner in Minsoo’s own body, laying across his chest. 

“You can borrow my clothes,” Jaewon had said so easily. Like this was something they did all the time. 

They went through his wardrobe- did the guy only own one kind of shirt? He was about to throw on a white or black tee when a bright blue tee shirt that screamed “freebie” caught his eye. It had a chibi shark, and Minsoo found himself smiling.

“Sharks are still your favorite, huh?”

“Oh, yeah. They are.”

There’s a silent  “ _you remembered?_ ” in Jaewon’s words and that... just... hurt. When had things gotten like this?

But he finds himself in the younger’s clothes, admiring the oversized look on his own body- where Jaewon stands. Minsoo wonders for a moment if, under other circumstances, he’d still be able to steal Jaewon’s clothes like this.

There’s something unfamiliar in his chest. He treats it like he does his feelings about his older brother- lets it simmer and pretends to ignore it. 

“Look at yourself! I’m wearing your clothes!” Minsoo pointed to the mirror, with a strange sort of glee at the sight.

“It’s all tee shirts,” Jaewon fidgeted. “It’s not a big deal.”

“But it’s like couple shirts!” Minsoo decided to just have fun with this, considering this may be the last time he saw himself in something of Jaewon’s.

The thought upset him- which felt stupid because Jaewon owed him nothing- but he’d like to wear Jaewon’s clothes in his own body. Smell the shampoo and dryer fabric the younger used with his own nose. He beamed at the younger, before pretending to cover a blush with the fabric of the tee.

“Look, am I portraying you correctly?”

A blush lit up Minsoo’s face- giving him Jaewon’s reaction pretty clearly- before the younger did the exact same movement. He stopped himself midway- letting out an embarrassed chuckle.

Minsoo found it way too endearing.

Jaewon’s eyes were wide with a slightly openmouthed gape as he looked up and down at Minsoo’s smaller body in his clothes. Deciding to spare them both the embarrassment of him calling the younger out for gaping, he chose to tease.

“This is like the movies where the girlfriend stays the night and wears the boyfriend’s shirt. Should I be calling you oppa?”

Red, brilliant red on his face. Minsoo could feel a blush of his own and looked away.

“Sorry, not a good joke.”

He stole a look at the younger. His face was redder than what should be healthy.

“Hey! If you explode I won’t have a body to go back to!”


	4. Chapter 4

“It’s weird,” Jaewon admitted- he’d been doing a lot of that admitting thing. “This whole- open about about everything to do with me and my life thing.”

“I guess I haven’t been so fair asking only of you, huh?”

“T-that’s n-not-“

“I’m not upset, Jaewon-ah. Hyung should tell you things too. I just... don’t have anything of your magnitude.”

“I’m not an Atlas figure, hyung.” Jaewon giggled but risked a probe. “Isn’t there something in your life that you wouldn’t smile about, but do? Despite everything?”

It was like being in Minsoo’s body lowered all of his self-control. He knew better than to say that in a discussion like this one, though. That was a banter comment. The thought made him startle, when had their conversations become classifiable again? 

“I have an inferiority complex, I guess.”

The confession was so sudden that Jaewon whipped around to face the elder. 

“You do? But you seem so confident and expressive?” 

“I do?” The tone was something he’d never heard on Minsoo, self-depreciating, unsure. It was so foreign, even in this situation. He nodded, trying to convey reassurances into the movement. 

“It’s something I always thought was so cool about hyung!”

“Ah... well... I-“ Minsoo paused, before launching into a lengthy explanation. His grades never matched up, his performance never matched up- the company he’d worked hard to try out for, his brother was accepted while he was rejected, and his brother only tried out on a whim. How he wanted to hate his brother, wanted to beat him more than anything, but there was this constant war. Did he want to just move on like an adult or was he still a kid trying to beat his big bro? Was it juvenile? 

Minsoo leaned back with a hollow laugh, shaking his head. Jaewon paused, it was so weird to be close enough to be told someone’s problems. Nobody had really ever been close enough to do that. Minsoo... was the first person to confide in him. He didn’t even know how to handle this situation. Gingerly, he linked their hands.

“For what it’s worth, I think you’re pretty great the way you are,” he didn’t look at him, only at the blank wall. Minsoo sighed.

“Is it ever enough?”

“I don’t know about anyone else, but I think you’re enough for me,” Jaewon answered blankly. The one he had was Minsoo, Minsoo was his groupmate and Minsoo was part of the reason he let himself get put in situations he hated. Not this older brother. Not this member of another group. That person wasn’t someone that Jaewon cared about like this.

“I... I don’t know what I did to deserve you, Jaewon-ah.” 

Was it getting a little hot in the room? 

“T-this conversation was about you-“

“I’m serious, you’re so incredible. You’re strong and you try to take on everything because you want to shield everyone else because you’re just that amazing. And you have the absolute  _ nerve _ to say you look up to me?”

Jaewon could feel the fire of a blush. He didn’t know that Minsoo felt that way about him. He’d never seen it as anything too big of a deal. He hated it- a lot- but to him it was just his contribution to the group. Jaewon didn’t think of it as a huge sacrifice. He didn’t see himself as this protecting  _ angel _ \- but for someone to say that someone noticed, someone said he’d done well?

He was so easily pleased- but didn’t it feel like it was all worth it, right then?

Ah- there was his tears, tears and the stretch of a really big smile. 

“W-whoa- I- I wasn’t trying to make you cry!”

“I’m just... really happy, hyung,” Jaewon turned to Minsoo and smiled. Minsoo shrugged and wrapped an arm around him. 

“Hey, you should be happy. Can you stay like this for a while?”

“Like what?”

“Happy and open,” Minsoo said, like it was the easiest thing in the world. They both knew it wasn’t. 

“I-It’s not that easy.”

“I hate that.”

He flinched.

“I’m sorr-“

“Don’t you dare apologize,” Minsoo cut him off. “I hate that you can’t be happy or just to speak when it comes so easily to a lot, maybe even most, of people. I hate that you feel unable and we have some part, if not all, of the blame. Don’t apologize or exclude yourself. We don’t hate you, I promise.”

“I shouldn’t have separated myself,” Jaewon admitted. He was not going to let Minsoo shoulder all the blame. No matter how much Minsoo insisted it was his own. 

“Yeah, well, some mistakes can be fixed. And guess what?” Minsoo replied sardonically.

“To fix that- I probably need my body back,” Jaewon quipped shyly. Minsoo only smiled. The puzzle pieces that had never quite fit before had come together in this weird puzzle. The parts that didn’t make sense: the womanizing, uncaring and selfish Wyld had just never actually existed within Ahn Jaewon: the shy, soft, and kind kid they’d met in that practice room so long ago. 

In the mess of connecting and throwing out pieces, he’d totally forgotten that they’d needed to actually take care of the whole “I’m-not-in-my-body” thing.

He said as much.

Jaewon just laughed and Minsoo found that there were _Feelings_ in his chest that he didn’t know how to name for once. 

It wasn’t even Jaewon’s laugh, it was his, but it was _Jaewon_ behind it. The open and laughing face from when Jaewon lights up at the smallest thing- an invitation, a gift, a text- coming to mind. Bubbles popped and bounced in his chest, and he felt lighter than air. 

There was a dark piece of him saying that this should be impossible, like a dream, because Jaewon doesn’t open his mouth to say anything. He holds everything to his chest, refusing to give anyone a clue. But now that they’re like this, and Jaewon just opens his mouth and talks, being entrusted with the rare thoughts of their shyest member makes him feel special. 

Was it a gratification thing or just him realizing for a second time just how important Ahn Jaewon was?

They split up and Minsoo does some research at his place, using his gaming computers for something else- he almost wants to apologize to his baby for misusing it, but now wasn’t the time for jokes.

Everything he finds is about kissing. Every single article or literature is about true love- or fanfictions that he refuses to read. It was uncomfortable, because how could he kiss Jaewon when the affectionate bubbles in his chest conjure themselves at his name and that’s Dangerous Territory? 

He doesn’t have an issue with dating guys- he has an issue with himself, an idol, dating. 

Hold on-  _when did dating come into the picture?!_

Closing the tabs, he shot a text to Jaewon, asking to meet on the company roof so they can compare notes. 

If he looks at this and considers kissing Jaewon one more time, he really will be in Capital-T  _Trouble_ .


	5. Chapter 5

Jaewon was dealing with a lot for himself. His hyung was the one person he could be candid with, and it was his own body anyway, what was a kiss? If it worked, what kind of first kiss would that be for his hyung?

Had his hyung even had his first kiss? 

Biting his lip, he pushed aside the thought with more force than normal. That wasn’t his business. He didn’t like to think of his own first kiss: horror and nerves thrumming in his veins and a girl he didn’t like with her hands on him when he didn’t want them. He wondered for a moment- if things went back to normal, what would happen? 

What would Minsoo do in his own body? Pretend their closeness over the past two days never happened? Like it was some fever dream? That nothing had happened and Jaewon was still only his reputation? 

He berates himself for feeling like that. Minsoo had reciprocated. He had admitted something about himself, a personal demon. 

Jaewon had never been close enough to someone to tell him that- it was just as big a deal to be told as it was to tell. It was like that conversation with Dae so long ago- MAYHEM doesn’t hate him. 

He just needs to remember that. 

He shouldn’t test people, that felt dirty, but he had one way to see. If Minsoo didn’t pull back, Jaewon could continue. He could hang out and be close with him after everything.

And That! Sounded! Amazing! 

It started to drizzle, but Jaewon kept up the pace. This was him stepping into a new chapter, where things looked a little more okay.

He ran up to the roof, feet pattering on the steps and slightly out of breath at the top, but there stands Minsoo and if this works- this could be a first step in a really good direction.

The rain got harder, but he just stared at Minsoo, who was in his body but still so irrevocably Minsoo that the height and red hair was funny. And Minsoo smiled back.

Ignoring the discomfort in his stomach and the possibility of the carefully built up friendship could melt in this rain, he stepped forward.

The rain poured down, pattering on the ground and twinkling against skin. It was his body but all Minsoo could see was Jaewon. Jaewon, Jaewon, Jaewon. 

Not Wyld, the suave and intensely magnetic- but Jaewon, the easily flustered and overly kind. He had asked him to meet here, to be alone. But now they stood, nervously, on the roof, uncaring of the rain. 

“Did you find anything?” He finally asked, hoping Jaewon had an answer. He couldn’t keep looking at articles telling him to kiss him. Minsoo had only so much self-control.

“Everything about magic is just kissing. I guess if it’s kissing ourselves so it’s not too much to think about...” Jaewon shrugged.

But he  wanted , so desperately, for it to be something. Minsoo wanted Jaewon, like a drowning person pleads for air or a person in darkness dreams of a flame. He didn’t know what that wanting was. He’d never wanted like this. Never felt that emptiness after leaving someone behind until Jaewon. It was a strange and unfamiliar but not unwelcome emotion. Because with that wanting came this fulfillment but just seeing the younger, holding hands, or even so much as a smile- and his chest was warm with happiness.

It wasn’t what had swapped them- he knew it in his bones. He felt Something about Ahn Jaewon and he didn’t know what it was. How had they gotten here in two days? Had it really been two days? 

“I don’t mind.” 

And that was that, they both moved, trying to negate the awkwardness in a rushed kiss. But one kiss turned into two, his mind going fuzzy with the simple press of warm lips against his. It wasn’t by any means a well-done kiss. It was amateurish and awkward- but blazing hot.

In this moment, Minsoo’s skin burned and sensations tingled through him. He was like a firework, full of flames and ready to burst. 

The raindrops were cold against his skin, but they didn’t fill him with chills, only prickling that made him feel Jaewon’s touch more intensely. He looked up at the younger on instinct- to find himself out of the younger member’s body. Looking down- he was without a doubt back. And still in Jaewon’s clothes.

He was digging his own grave, here. 

That emotion he didn’t fully understand- the scorching in his chest whenever the younger came to mind, or the crawling tingles in his limbs when Jaewon smiled- his smile but on Minsoo’s face, unchanging no matter the medium- and he was pushing a limit that sent the bubbles in his chest to whirling speeds. 

The taller but younger member- in his body! In his body! With his eyes curling- his eyes! He was looking in Jaewon’s eyes with his own ones!

“We have our bodies back, huh?”

“Yeah.”

The younger shifted awkwardly, like he wanted to ask something. A fondness bubbled up and he couldn’t help himself.

“Ask.”

“What?”

“You’re trying to ask me something,”

Jaewon blushed, a pretty pink painting itself from the apples of his cheeks to the ends of his cute ears.

“I know it doesn’t do anything... but can we sleep together again tonight?”

“H-huh?”

“I-If you don’t want to it’s totally fi-“

“Sure. We can sleep together, Jaewon-ah. Oh, that sounds weird.”

“Hyung!”

But there was a little, satisfied, grin on Jaewon’s face as they ran inside, wet shirts clinging to their bodies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trust me~  
> I’m not done yet~~


	6. Chapter 6

They woke up disoriented and then became panicked.

They were in each other’s bodies again.

Why?

And it did not do good things to Minsoo’s heart to be grabbed and kissed by the younger first thing. Then again, before Jaewon frowned and said that kissing didn’t work.

But there was another problem- their break ended tomorrow, as per the text of their driver.

“You’re kidding me!” Minsoo let himself give off a frustrated yell. Jaewon looked at him, concerned. He pouted and lightly kicked the wall.

“I’m not mad at you- just... what are we gonna do?”

A loud buzz caught their attention.

“Your phone’s blowing up-“ Minsoo looked at the smartphone- “aww! Are we your background?”

“What does it say?” Jaewon responded with only a question. Minsoo took the phone, like he had only a short while ago, warily. It was suddenly so delicate and he felt hairs rise like it was a time bomb rather than a cell phone. 

“I- are you sure?”

“Yeah, I keep getting tagged.” Jaewon shrugged. Minsoo resisted their urge to cover the younger’s eyes as he tapped the innocuous blue icon.

“Huh, someone posted about meeting you last time. Me, I guess.”

“O-oh?”

“Saying that I was suspicious as hell, apparently, because who goes to a club, doesn’t dance, doesn’t drink, and turns down any conversations?” Minsoo couldn’t help but give a half-hearted protest for his own work. “Excuse me, missy! I was doing my absolute best to stay on good behavior! What do you mean, I was suspicious?!”

Jaewon let out a huff of laughter, before flopping down on the bed.

“Funny how she’s the first to ever actually post about seeing me in the club with pictures.”

“The comments are nuts, apparently I styled myself too much like a stage performance, and I wasn’t as subtle as I thought about glancing at my drink.” Minsoo looked at the pictures, trying to ignore the sudden way his mouth went dry at seeing Jaewon dressed like that. 

That was literally him!

“You do that too?!” Jaewon jumped up with a beam. Minsoo laughed.

“I thought I was being kinda weird!”

“Me too!”

“What’s the exact scandal this time? Am I suspected of drugs or something?” Jaewon took his phone to scroll through a barrage of hate comments, pausing to read a few positive ones that made him light up, before he found an actual source. “I’m suspected of just being a rebellious wannabe for sneaking out and only doing so to ruin MAYHEM’s rep?”

Minsoo couldn’t help it, he scowled.

“Well it certainly has to do with our reputation, and it sure isn’t real.”

He took the phone back (read: snatched) in hopes of being a decent filter. He had the height advantage now- MUAHAHAHAHAH! 

Anyway, he found something he’d only ever seen for their music videos.

“A conspiracy thread!”

“What’s that?” 

“On Twitter! It’s when people put together a bunch of suspicious things and theorize about it!”

Jaewon oohed at the thread pointing out how it seemed like Wyld was styled by a stylist, and the expression was one similar to what Minsoo used on stage- they got a good laugh at that- before pointing out that their company never actually said anything about the scandals after the first one. Then the fan pointed out their brand recognition after every scandal and the timing of the comebacks to play right after the heat had died mostly but the attention was there.

“Waaah, MAYNIACS are amazing!” Minsoo couldn’t help but gush. He really did appreciate their fans a lot.

“It’s nice to think that some of them don’t only look at my reputation,” Jaewon smiled softly and oh- oh if that didn’t hurt. That his reputation preceded him to the point where he didn’t even know where he stood with the fans, who were supposed to be a base of support. 

Minsoo decided to give a haughty huff.

“You’re literally baby, I don’t know why you’re the member they chose.”

But he did. It was because Jaewon was the easiest member to exploit. Young, naive, and kind. The quiet type, who rarely opts to complain and tried to bear everything so nobody else had to. 

A manipulative scumbag’s wet dream.

He scowled, briefly. This wasn’t what they’d signed up for. And even now, in the back of his head, he heard his brother saying that of course this was the only way he’d ever have been successful.

Shaking his (well... it was Jaewon’s, but he’d like to think of himself as renting it) head, he opted to smile and hug the younger.

“See! You’re so cute!”

“I’m in your body, hyung.”

“Exactly!” He didn’t miss a beat. “I am gorgeous! Lovely!”

Jaewon giggled.

“I wanna hug you,” Minsoo blurted. Jaewon blinked in surprise before looking down at himself.

“A-ah?”

“I wanna glomp you. So here!” The elder cheered and Jaewon found himself wrapped in a tight hug.

He smiled.

“Hey hyung, are we gonna stay in like I’m normally supposed to after a scandal?”

Minsoo shot to a standing position.

“No! Screw the rules! Drink the cereal water from the jug! Fuck the company!” Minsoo was getting excited, to the point of flailing. 

Huh?

“W-what?”

He was so confused and all of that coming from his actual body made him feel like someone was playing back a video of him intensely drunk.

“Cereal water! You know?!”

“W-What?!” Jaewon really did find himself intensely flustered by this guy.

“I forget what it’s called, but it’s always so difficult to find!”

“Milk? Isn’t it just on the top shelf in that convince store by the company building?”

Minsoo bristled.

“The only one who gets to make height jokes is me, beanpole.”

“I-“ Jaewon started and stopped himself. Minsoo hyung wasn’t actually mad, was he? He was sensitive about his height, sure... but was he? He was about to apologize when the elder cut in.

“ _ Reeeeally _ !” The elder member lectured. “I’m not only your hyung, but I  _ trusted _ you! I have been  _betrayed_ !”

And isn’t that just like Minsoo? Being a little extra just because he can? 

A smile curled its way up.

“Hey- are you seriously making fun of me?!”

His hyung was adorable.

“Not at all, leadernim hyungnim,” he protested.

“Now I know you’re making fun of me! My height is normal! You’re all just giants!”

“A giant...” he pursed his lips.

“Yeah, but you’re the closest to human size so you’re the BFG!”

B... F... G...

Oh!

“Like the children’s book?”

“Duh!”


	7. Chapter 7

Minsoo and Jaewon sat on the roof of an abandoned apartment building. They couldn’t find a library and had just wound up walkingaround Seoul the entire day. Not necessarily a waste- because then he roped the younger into playing games at an arcade with him- but no progress. A guilty edge of his mind said that if he actually cared as much as he should, he’d be tearing through every source, but here he was: just enjoying that he could play with Jaewonnie again.

Minsoo traced the sky with his (he supposed they weren’t  _ his _ , but for now they were) eyes and sighed.

“What are we gonna do about the others?”

“What?” Jaewon turned to look at him. It was fair, to be concerned about why he suddenly mentioned the others when it had just been them. 

“It’s been just us two, which is awesome, but I need to know if you’re gonna tell them.” Minsoo sighed.

“I don’t think I will,” Jaewon mulled, pulling his knees to his chest. “I never wanted to tell you, after all.”

That hurt more than it should.

“Ouch,” Minsoo pouted. “You can tell me things!”

“Weren’t you happier, without knowing? That our success was propelled by my scandals? That I’d lied to all of you too, and pulled myself away?” There’s an edge in the tone, the younger assuring himself of his own villainy. Villainy that, truthfully, didn’t exist. 

“But weren’t you happier, when I did? And you could just say things and I didn’t blame you?”

“Isn’t that selfish, though? To sacrifice your happiness for mine?” Jaewon still didn’t look at him. Minsoo groaned, his friend really needed to stop hating himself.

“I’m happy now, who says my happiness has been sacrificed?”

They stared at the stars, as they sipped hot chocolate. The coffee shop they’d gotten it from had two baristas that Jaewon was friendly with. The man had berated him for staying away before the woman berated her fellow barista. Jaewon had laughed and given them a wave as he dragged Minsoo out. It made him happy to see Jaewon happy. The younger broke him out of his thoughts.

“You know what? I think it’s because of you.”

“Me?” Minsoo turned to him, surprised. Jaewon stared at the hot chocolate cup on the pavement of the rooftop. 

“Is it your body that makes me so unable to keep my mouth shut?” 

It wasn’t a tease or a jab, but he still responded in kind.

“Yah!”

Jaewon flinched in surprise, before waving his hands in an (adorable) attempt to placate. 

“N-not like that! It’s just... why am I so able to say things when I’m you?”

Minsoo snorted at that. 

“Maybe you have my impulse control.”

He pointedly tried not to think about how if Jaewon had switched with his brother than even if he got his brother’s impulse control- he’d have no problem. Jaewon linked their hands and looked up at the starless night sky.

“And if I do?”

There was something electric in the air, nipping at him with its fizzing and sparking. He gently turned Jaewon to face him and looked him in the eyes.

“Then say it,” Minsoo breathed. “Yell and complain and stick it to this fucked up world!”

The younger frowned, an odd explosion of emotions crossing his face. Then he leapt to his feet and bounded over to the edge of the roof. Minsoo rose to follow. This was Jaewon being free, and open and happy and it was a euphoric feeling to cause that.

“I’m sick of it!” Jaewon howled over the roof railing into the night. “I’m just as human as all of you are! Stop acting like I’m not gonna be hurt by you!”

“Keep going!” Minsoo urged, heart pounding in his chest. “Say everything! For everyone and no one to hear!”

“I’m not a product or an object! Stop threatening me into acting like one!” The younger screamed, roaring and open and able to just... be.

Chest heaving, Jaewon stepped off of the railing. 

“I can _not_ believe I just did that. Oh my gosh _did I just do that?!”_

Minsoo wrapped his- well, Jaewon’s- arms around Jaewon and didn’t let go.

“You opened your mouth. And I’m so, so proud of you.”

A giddy, shaken, laugh made its way out of the younger idol. 

“I _did_. I did just say something and I did just yell. I did! _I did it_!”

Minsoo smiled, trying not to focus on that warm fondness he’d grown so accustomed to blooming in his chest. It had literally been _ days _ , this wasn’t  _ fair _ . 

But then he’d see the Jaewon in the smiles on his own face and think, “oh- how haven’t I fallen for this person already?”

A little splash and clatter made them pause and look down, they’d kicked over the hot chocolate cups. 

Jaewon looked at him with slightly guilty surprise before bursting into a brilliant smile. Minsoo found himself smiling back.

In this moment, it was just the two of them- not a ghost of his brother in sight.

Frowning, he turned and marched to the edge of the building.

“Hyung?”

“If you can do it- I’m gonna do it too.”

Jaewon watched, wide-eyed as he let out a yell of his own.

“Stop comparing me to my brother! Stop saying someone is better than someone else! I am my own person and I’m _great_ , goddammit!”

That was... that was _incredible_. He turned to face Jaewon, who smiled so wide, eyes curling, and sighed.

“You! Up there!” A sudden shout broke their reveries. 

Jaewon jumped, sharing a startled glance with Minsoo. They rushed to their caps and masks before Minsoo took his hand.

“Let’s go!” The elder yelled and ran, Jaewon followed right behind him. 

He let out a slightly hysterical laugh, adrenaline flaming through his veins. It wasn’t unlike being on stage, but this was a different kind of rush. Now, Jaewon wasn’t a thrill-seeker, but moments like these- hand in hand with one of his most precious people and to-the-bone happiness- were something he’d gladly have if he got the chance. 

  
He showed up early to the studio the next day for practice, the other members joining as well. 

“Something’s missing...” Daehyun frowned, looking around the room. 

“Cohesion? Teamwork? A sense of what we’re doing?” Dongho dryly suggested.

“Jaewon,” Jaewon supplied as Minsoo walked in.

“Another meeting, I was stopped on the way,” their actual leader explained. Jaewon paled.

“Give us a minute,” he said, leading the other to the side and ignoring the confused looks of the other members. Once they were far enough away, he faced the other anxiously. 

“What happened?”

“Nothing, the CEO said that I did what I could- but now my playboy image is in danger and he’s gonna need us to rectify that at some point. So he’s gonna she them to take down the pictures. Then he called in a woman I haven’t seen and I overheard him giving her some instructions.”

“We were lucky,” Jaewon sighed in relief. 

“Luck is my middle name!” Minsoo frowned, as if Jaewon had doubted him. Jaewon shook his head.

“Only if Bad is my first.”

That startled the elder into peals of laughter, startling the quietly conversing other two, who were warily watching from far enough away that they couldn’t actually hear anything. 

“Did you just make a joke! I’m so proud!”

And he found himself getting hugged by the impishly grinning Minsoo.

“Hyung, right now you’re me,” Jaewon supplied, making Minsoo sigh and relinquish his hold. 

“So what’s the deal?”

“They’re handling it on the media and outsourcing end. There’s not much I can do on your end, they just want Wyld to disappear for a few days.”

“Gotcha, that gives us time to figure this whole thing out. And an excuse to cancel practice.”

“Cancel? Jaewon, we need the practice,” Minsoo frowned. Jaewon shook his head.

“Yeah, but we aren’t exactly us, at the moment.”

“That’s fine, I really don’t like it,” a scowl crossed his own face for a moment and Jaewon only sighed.

“It sucks, but that’s what it is,” he offered in response, easing Minsoo’s expression.

“I don’t have to like it,” Minsoo sighed, but said no more about it.

“Think of it this way, if we devote the time to getting our bodies back, it’ll be finding a currently needed solution. After all-“ a nervousness settled beneath the skin- “it’s not like this will last forever, right?”

“I didn’t even consider that-“ Minsoo gasped. 

“Let’s call off practice and get to work,” Jaewon decided. Minsoo nodded with fervor.

“Guys, I’m calling off team practice today,” Jaewon instilled as much of the nonchalance that he used on stage into his voice as he could.

“Wha- who are you and what have you done to Lee Minsoo?” Daehyun laughed. 

Jaewon exchanged a look with Minsoo.

“It’s a long story,” he elected to respond. Then he looked at Minsoo, still acting. “You coming?”

“Right!” 

He didn’t look back at the two confused and suspicious expressions as the door shut behind them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promised yelling off of rooftops didn’t I?  
> I didn’t promise running from the cops/guards but I love this concept.  
> Also peep Nari and Jun, I adore them.  
> PS, kissing in the rain didn’t fix things lol I just wanted a prerelationship kiss to mindf*** Minsoo into realizing exactly what the ~feeling~ he refused to address is~


	8. Chapter 8

“Magic spells are out of the question, so are convenient machines,” Minsoo mulled as he scrolled through a wiki page. Jaewon scrolled through fanfictions.

“That’s another kiss one, is it only kisses, s-sex, or some kinda ritual?”

“How do you have the stomach for those?” Minsoo cringed, but Jaewon shrugged. 

“I’ve seen weirder.”

Minsoo cringed.

“Ew, what are you  _ into _ ?”

“Hyung!”

“Okay, okay,” he chuckled, racking his mind for any sort of fictional precedence beyond American movies. “So... what? Are we gonna hope for some kinda  _Your Name_ scenario?”

“Wasn’t someone in that show dead?” Jaewon tilted his head. 

“Right,” Minsoo mulled. “But wouldn’t we switch back and forth a lot too? If it were that?”

“Or is there some sort of task we’re expected to fulfill?” Jaewon looked up at his ceiling, Minsoo turned to him.

“What do you mean?”

“We switched back when I k-kissed you last time, but not this time,” Jaewon mumbled, losing confidence. “So maybe we need to figure out what it is we need to do to switch back?”

“And what? How long are we gonna need to do that for?”

“I don’t know...”

“Let’s sleep on it. I’m gonna head to mine tonight,” Minsoo decided. 

“Be smart, hyung,” Jaewon held his hands anxiously.

“Excuse me?! I always am!” Minsoo complained, and walked straight into the door.

He stole a look at Jaewon, who only stared at him in shock, and sighed. “Stupid door, I get that I’m attractive but damn.”

There we go- that got a giggle out of him.   


“You’re in my body,” Jaewon reminded.

Oh, right.

”It’s my personality,” he declared imperiously.   


Jaewon laughed.

“I am smart! Really!”

“I never said you weren-“

Say something smart, anything!

“Minty is just cold spicy,” he blurted. Not a super intellectual thought, but provoking enough.

Jaewon paused. He frowned, then widened his eyes, lifted a finger and opened his mouth, closed his mouth, weakly put down the finger and turned to him with a furrowed brow.

“I... guess?”

“Sleep well!” Minsoo waved and practically bolted from Jaewon’s apartment.

Jaewon was staring out the window of the van, he and Minsoo had woken up in their own bodies and met at the company- but they didn’t get a chance to discuss in too much detail. The company was having an impromptu MAYHEMTV shooting and there were cameras everywhere. Their episodes were few and far between, but always silly. Now was their obligatory convenience store episode. The van was quiet, Dongho and Minsoo having a stupid argument in which the eldest teased the leader and Minsoo responded in his natural extra fashion. 

“I’m friendly! I’m loyal! I’m energetic!” Minsoo proclaimed in response to a jibe from Dongho. Then he paused.

“I just described a dog, didn’t I?”

“Don’t worry, hyung! People like dogs!” Daehyun bobbed his head. Jaewon covered a little smile.

“I like cats,” Dongho decided to add, makingthe makane crack up.

“Are you joking?!” Minsoo gaped at Dongho.

“Do I look like I am?”

“Full offense but you never look like you’re joking, hyung,” Daehyun laughed. Dongho frowned at him.

“Adding hyung doesn’t make it better, Dae-yah.”

The youngest elected only to stick out his tongue. Minsoo rolled his eyes.

“What are you, three?”

“Heads taller than you,” Daehyun replied without missing a beat.

“I AM YOUR HYUNG!”

“Hyung! Don’t-“ Jaewon started but Minsoo cut him off.

“Don’t take it personally, but I feel like I’m being threatened by a chibi plushie.

“Threatened?!” Jaewon gaped, before waving his hands. “I would never!”

They ran through the convenience store, and Minsoo picked up a price tag scanner, running it over his body.

“Look! It’s not scanning me because I’m priceless!”

“Or you’re worthless,” Daehyun and Dongho chorused. 

Jaewon left them, cameras following him, as he searched the frozen area for a suitable distraction. His eyes landed on character ice creams.

“Minsoo-hyung! Look what I found!” 

“Wow! Animal ice cream!” Minsoo played up his excitement for the camera, making Jaewon laugh.

“It’s a puppy and a kitty!” Dae chose to come over then.

“They have cats?” And there was Dongho.

“Aren’t they cute?” Jaewon wasn’t paying much attention to who was talking.

“They didn’t have sharks, so I chose a cat-“

“And not a dog?!” Minsoo gasped. Jaewon looked at him confused.

“I like cats?”

Jaewon finally looked up, doing a quick double take at the sight of the others. His silver haired hyung caught his eye and smiled, eyes curling. Cute.

“Dogs are better than cats!” Daehyun insisted, examining the puppy cone. 

“They most certainly are not,” Dongho frowned. Minsoo shook his head firmly.

“Dogs are cuter!”   
  


“Jaewon looks like Boba,” Dongho smirked at Minsoo. Damn him.

“There may be an argument for cats being cute, then.”

“W-What?” Jaewon looked between the hyung line, making Minsoo chortle, animosity (heh) disregarded.

“Simple! You’re cute, Jaewon-Ah!”

“Y’all aren’t-“ Daehyun started but Dongho shook his head with a glare.

“-You all are not,” the eldest corrected.

“ _Y’aint_ ,” Minsoo whispered to Jaewon, making him choke. He turned to Minsoo, a poorly-hidden smile that told Minsoo that he had chosen the perfect comment. 

Good, he liked making Jaewon laugh.

“Let’s go look at video games!” He chose to redirect as soon as he saw the sign for them.

“Why do they have video games?”

“Who knows,” Dongho shrugged. They walked over, and Daehyun gasped with utter glee.

“Look, it’s a character bath bomb!” 

“You like baths?” Jaewon turned to him. The makane nodded vigorously.

“Sometimes I pretend that I’ve been captured by witches and they’re using me for soup.”

Jaewon blinked.

“I’m sorry, what?”

“So Dae is banned from baths now-“ Minsoo glared at the makane.

“Leadernim hyungnim is cute when he’s mad,” Jaewon teased. Minsoo reached to grab at Jaewon’s ear and yanked him down.

“Keep calling me that and watch me get real adorable real fast.”

It was a good day.

Minsoo froze, after they left the convenience store with the cameras still shooting but long disregarded, turning to them with an excited wave of his arms.

“Hold on! I’m having one of those things... A headache with pictures?”

The others gaped at him. The _“what the heck?”_ was left unsaid. Jaewon caught on.

“He has an idea.”

“Jaewon, remember the issue we were talking about?”

He blinked. Minsoo wasn’t talking about their bodyswap secret right in front of the others, was he?

“The whole-“ he gestured between them with his hands- “thing?”

“Yeah, come with me!” Minsoo grabbed his hand and pulled him back into the convenience store. There was a bottle of yogurt soju, the brand they drank that night that felt like centuries ago. They’d drunk under the stars and Minsoo had said to them something, so simply as Minsoo did.

_ “If we keep secrets that hurt us, may the universe intervene!” _

They all laughed and raised pinky to promise each other to be best friends. Dongho hyung has frowned in his “I want to smile but I’m too cool for it” sort of way, but he took a picture of them.

It was Jaewon’s lock screen.

Truthfully, he hadn’t seen this brand since that night.

“We were all tipsy, but I just remembered that night. Do you think... the thing that we need to do is fix the misunderstandings?”

Ice shot through Jaewon’s veins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Minsoo: *incomprehensible screeching*
> 
> Jaewon: And as the official Minsoo hyung translation machine, he’s...
> 
> Jaewon: Oh
> 
> Jaewon: He said that I’m cute! So are you hyung!
> 
> Daehyun and Dongho:
> 
> Daehyun: I get that you’re on the same wavelength but get off of it you’re scaring me.


	9. Chapter 9

“Y-you’re serious, aren’t you?” Jaewon’s face was pale, eyes wide and hands trembling. Minsoo put a hand over the redheaded member’s clammy and shaking one. 

“I know, you said you didn’t want to say anything-“

“I don’t know anymore,” Jaewon suddenly cut him off. Minsoo blinked at him.

“Why?”

Jaewon sighed, arching his head back against the wall. A sight that, despite his distraught face, seemed like a painting or a statue. 

“I like spending time with you like this. I don’t know if saying nothing is the right thing to do anymore.”

Progress!

“Well-“ Minsoo leaned on the wall next to him “-it ended up pretty good with me, didn’t it?”

“I guess,” Jaewon acknowledged.

“We all have our secrets that we bottle up too tightly,” Minsoo admitted. “But wasn’t it nice to untwist the cap, just a little bit?”

“It was,” the rapper acknowledged. 

“It built up so badly that yelling was the most freeing thing I’ve ever done and I yell on the daily,” Minsoo smirked.

“Hyu-ung,” Jaewon giggled.

A sudden text from their driver made him pause. 

“They’re having a woods exploration MAYHEMTV episode. Tomorrow.” 

“Why so many so suddenly?” Jaewon looked over at him through his eyelashes.

Yah, what right did this guy have to be so damn beautiful?

“Do you think we’re getting a comeback?”

Minsoo’s suggestion was punctuated by the buzz of a text from the CEO. Jaewon read it and his face fell.

“I’m gonna be late tomorrow,” he frowned at his phone. “They want me to be conspicuously late for shooting so they double booked me.”

A flash of fear shot through Minsoo.

Jaewon looked at him, momentarily confused, before catching on and shaking his head.

“This is a nice PD hyungnim, he doesn’t know anything and just helps us with our music. I might start recording guide vocals. We’ll talk about your... idea later.”

“You can make a clean profit offa’ that,” Minsoo acknowledged, fear dissipating ever so slightly.

But only slightly.

It was an instruction. Straight from the top. A provocative sounding message. Jaewon didn’t know what to think, as he opened his Twitter. He’d never been quite so blatant. And who would he take inspiration from. He wasn’t like Dongho, who practically had lyrics for spit. 

That was a weird comparison, he cringed.

Then he sighed. 

It was pretty obvious, who he could take inspiration from, if he let himself think about it instead of avoiding it. It was weird, but sometimes in those lonelier moments when he was supposed to be on his own, his mind drifted back to his leader.

“Should I stay up all night again? When I miss you, I can’t meet you^^ But I can see you~”

It was a message that felt too much like a confession for him to admit. He deleted the last two sentences, biting at the skin on his lips. 

“Should I stay up all night again?” wasn’t enough. He frowned and added a sentence.

“Should I stay up all night again? It feels like without you I can’t sleep.”

That was also too much like a love confession. But he hit post.

A bunch of notifs lit up his screen, most notably, a tweeted reply from Minsoo.

“Hot chocolate in ten? This isn’t our chat lol”

A grin threatened to split his face.

“Come over to mine, hyungie^^”

Technically, that was provocative.

Technically, the CEO would get his media storm.

Technically, that was just a tweet where he mentioned a hyung.

They watched movies before Jaewon finally felt at peace again, ready for the meeting and shoot tomorrow.

Technically, those tweets shouldn’t linger on his mind.

But why did his post feel like a love confession?

The morning had started as planned, an absent Jaewon and a fire-starting lesson from a staff member. Then they had to wait for Jaewon, something the cameras were sure to catch. Minsoo was having an aimless conversation with the others.

“Mama didn’t raise a quitter but she did raise a fool,” Minsoo nodded sagely. “And that’s a terrible combination.”

Daehyun giggled, then looked around.

“Where’s Jaewon hyung?”

“Jaewonnie had a meeting with a producer- they double booked him,” he sighed, a flash of nervousness flickering through his veins. Maybe it showed on his face. Jaewon had said it would be different from the CEO, but Minsoo worried. 

“So before we go into the woods,Dongho hyung, weapons?” 

Dongho groaned and pulled a small razor from his pocket. At Minsoo’s annoyed look, he pulled the dagger from his boot.

Minsoo gave him a look and opened his palm. Their eldest hyung sighed, frustrated, and retrieved the whip from his shirtsleeve. The camera crew were clearly torn between concerned confusion and losing their shit. 

“Dongho hyung, we have a video to shoot,” Daehyun snickered. At the look, the only remaining member with naturally colored hair rolled his eyes and retrieved the collapsible bow from his other pocket, and the rope from his hair. How did he-? Never mind. 

Dongho’s past was messy for a lot of reasons, knowing how to hide stuff was probably a specialty of his. Though now that he considered it, Jaewon was pretty damn good at it too.

“I said  all  of your weapons,” the makane didn’t even look at the steadily growing pile. 

The chain hyung had wrapped around his torso, the mace up his pant leg, the Bic lighter and matches under his soles joined. 

“All of them, come on!” 

Dongho glared, and retrieved the small dagger from his wristwatch.

“Happy?”

“What did I mi- whoa! Be prepared didn’t mean this!” Jaewon yelped as he arrived, late. Dongho had the decency to look mildly abashed. The cameras ate the interaction easily.

“Are you sure? Because there’s also the motto to leave no trace!” Daehyun shot a conspiring look to Choi, behind the camera, who just groaned. Jaewon said something to the blonde that Minsoo didn’t hear. Daehyun eagerly dragged him off, punctuated by a loud yelp from the person who’d dominated Minsoo’s mind for the past few days.

Wow, had it really been a few days?

“So we learned how to make some fires, a handy skill.” Minsoo smiled at the cameras. “I think that went pretty well,” he nodded more to himself than the lenses. 

A loud boom shook the field. Not even turning to address the camera, or even search for the source of the noise, Dongho yelled.

“DAEHYUN GET OVER HERE NOW!”

Their makane came over with a frown, pulling on a comedically-coated-in-soot Jaewon behind him.

“Hyung asked me how I set the fire- it’s not like I meant to build it next to an oil spill! Guys- stop polluting the world, now poor Jaewon hyung is covered in soot!”

“If you set the fire, why is Jaewon covered in the mess?” Minsoo sighed and dragged Jaewon to a giggling makeup noona with a baby wipe. Cameras followed their every movement, for their editors to mess with later. 

“He was so cool! He jumped in front of me, I didn’t even notice until afterwards. He said he was fine, though.”

“That’s just like him,” Minsoo rolled his eyes, feeling both worried and fond. 

“Stop,” the until now silent Jaewon pouted, ears a darker red than his hair. “I’m fine, I promise.”

“You good, Wyld?” Dongho gave him a once over. Minsoo watched Jaewon stiffen, a movement nigh minuscule, at the name. 

“So we’re picking teams?” Minsoo guided the conversation. Daehyun nodded vigorously.

“I want Minsoo hyung! If we get stranded I can eat him.”

“Why you little-! Get over here Anchovy-Brain!” Minsoo leapt to his feet to chase a giggling Daehyun. That complete brat! Who had raised him? Dongho?!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dongho: I am a very stable person.
> 
> Minsoo: Just so you know, I’m giving you a very impressive side-eye right now.


	10. Chapter 10

Minsoo had gotten paired with Jaewon through a riotous fight with Daehyun that resulted in Dongho lifting him up by his shirt and setting him beside Jaewon.

His reasoning was solid.

“If we switch, then it won’t be too problematic,” the leader had explained. 

Why did it feel like that wasn’t everything Minsoo wanted to say? Or everything that Jaewon wanted to hear?

“So everyone knows what they’re doing?” Dongho looked between the groups.

“In life or the plan?” Daehyun have him a look.

“The plan, idiot,” Dongho glared. 

“Phew,” Jaewon exaggeratedly wiped his brow, getting a surprised look from the others.

But hey, if anyone knew how to change a situations’s mood by gaining attention it was him.

They ambled through the woods, Minsoo leading him haphazardly through the brambles. The poor disliking crew right behind were getting frustrated, but Minsoo took his opportunity to get him as far out of earshot as possible.

“I’ve thought about it. It’s not my place to make a decision, but I think you need to tell them.”

“Why me?” Jaewon groaned, more to himself than his hyung. But Minsoo answered.

“Because people should like you. You’re quiet, you say “excuse me” when you bump into people, you look like little birds help you get dressed in the morning.” Minsoo pat Jaewon’s shoulder consolingly. “You’re a good person. And you don’t deserve this. We can’t fix everything but this is a start.”

“And because it should theoretically stop the whole... body-swapping-thing?” Jaewon laughed bitterly, trying to ignore the way the compliments felt like they were for someone else. Minsoo ran a hand through his hair.

“In part. But I’m also thinking about what you deserve. Don’t think I didn’t see you flinch when Dongho called you Wyld.”

Jaewon bit his lip. Minsoo could be scarily sharp-eyed at times. 

“What can I do? I don’t think I can,” he stressed. “It’s so hard for me to open my mouth and speak. About anything.”

“It’s frustrating,” his partner only said in response. It stung, even when Jaewon knew it wasn’t aimed at him. 

Jaewon opened his mouth to say something else when the shouts of the camera crew caught their attentions.

“Rain check?” Jaewon turned to Minsoo, who nodded seriously.

“But Jaewon-ah?” 

He turned to face Minsoo.

“When the time comes, I’ll do it too.”

He hadn’t known why he had said that. But he did.

He couldn’t force Jaewon to be brave and stay silent about his own secrets. How long had the things they’d refused to open their mouths and just say divided them?

The woods shoot was a success, and, as expected, Jaewon’s late arrival made it in. Unexpectedly, the editors had left Daehyun’s explanation of the incident, and his own explanation as to why Jaewon was late. He did giggle at the captions provided by an annoyed cameraman hyung from the bit where he’d dragged the younger off.

So it was a bit of a surprise to be the one dragged by Jaewon. But the coffee-addicted member made sure to lead him to an unoccupied meeting room.

“I’ve been thinking about it, I’m gonna try to work up the courage to do it.” Jaewon asserted. “I- it’s been suspiciously long since we’ve swapped. If we do, I won’t be able to do it in your body.”

Minsoo breathed deeply.

“I’m going to talk to them about myself sometime soon,” he reminded. “I’ll stay by you.”

“Y-you don’t have to!” Jaewon refuted.

“But I want to,” he emphasized to the redhead. “I can’t force you to be brave and not be brave too.”

“I’m scared,” Jaewon confessed. “And I know you are too.”

Minsoo didn’t reply, at first. Because the rapper was right. He was terrified.

“I am scared. But I trust my gut. And it’s telling me that secrets aren’t doing any of us much good.”

Jaewon stared at him, before Minsoo noticed unshed tears glossing the taller’s eyes. In every aspect, didn’t Jaewon hold back?

“Hey, Won-ah, it’s okay,” he reached to catch an escaping tear. “You can cry.”

Jaewon buried his face in Minsoo’s shoulder, shoulders silently shaking.

They stayed like that for a while.

They did wake up in each other’s bodies.

“Haaaaah,” Minsoo sighed, looking more tired of the situation than annoyed.

“Do you happen to be related to a shaman, Won-ah?”

The nickname made him flush, and he looked away.

“Who’s the one who asked to universe to intervene and it did?”

“Noted.”

His hyung looked at him, eyes moving the way Jaewon’s did when he wanted to ask a question. So Jaewon decided to just speak.

“The oddest thing is that when you brought it up... my mind had almost skipped over that night even if it was such a rare thing.”

“It was, wasn’t it,” his hyung hummed. “You didn’t spend all that much time with us. Back then, when we both thought you were just shy, Daehyun-ah was worried that you were in a difficult situation. Who would have known how right he was?”

“You weren’t wrong, per se,” he told the singer. “I was shy, and scared of making you guys hate me.”

“You’re impossible to hate, Ahn Jaewon.”

Jaewon looked up at his ceiling, bitterness in his bones.

“Who knows?”

“Seriously, you must be from heaven or something,” his hyung suddenly said, with a head shake. Jaewon looked over at the man still in his body.

“‘M probably from hell, it would explain-“

“Why you’re hot?”

Who turned on the room heating?

“W-What? No!”

“You’re hot though,” his hyung smirked.

“Dear heavens,” Jaewon groaned.

Minsoo looked up at the ceiling for himself, but apparently, he had something else in mind.

“If we switch back, I’ll go first.”

Lo and behold, they did. In that disorientating moment, Jaewon turned to Minsoo.

“Who’s the shaman now?”

Minsoo just laughed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Minsoo: Jaewon is an angel  
> Jaewon: *holds up uno reverse card*


	11. Chapter 11

“You know what’s weird?” Minsoo suddenly questioned as he put on one of Jaewon’s shirts. “We never had any issue with handling each other’s bodies.”

Jaewon choked, pretty face (brain, please shut up) turning red. He looked down, trying to hide his face in his shirt when he realized that he was still shirtless.

Minsoo laughed harder than he had in a long time.

He laughed, and he realized that this was nice. This quiet intimacy was nice. If MAYHEM got a dorm, he might just fight to room with Jaewon.

“So, game plan. We should bring everyone somewhere secluded to talk, right?”

“Maybe another rooftop?”

“I don’t even know how we found that one,”

“Just get hot chocolates and wander til we find another?”

“Ooh! We should get lamps and blankets too! I have at my place!”

“Okay! I get hot chocolates and you get the stuff, let’s meet at the coffee shop,”

“The coffee shop, like there’s only one,” he leered at Jaewon, who gave him the startled awkward look he sometimes adopted when he was uncomfortable.

“Okay, let’s meet!”

They did end up finding an abandoned building with a high and accessible roof very quickly. It looked pretty similar, maybe it was even the same one as last time.

“I shared my location, now we wait,” Minsoo turned to Jaewon, who looked nearly ethereal in the glowing lamplight with no makeup on.

Jaewon only smiled and sat beside him, drink in hand, as they waited.

Fifteen minutes later, the metal door slammed open- a tall, dark, and handsome man behind it. 

“Why did you ask us to meet you guys here? You’re not drunk,” Dongho grumbled. Nevertheless, he joined them on the blanket and accepted the hot chocolate from Jaewon. 

Daehyun was last, panting from running, mask slightly askew. He sat next to Jaewon and Minsoo watched the second youngest fix up their makane.

He didn’t even know if it was jealousy or attraction sending fire through his chest but now was not the time!

“We don’t really meet up like this, all four of us, do we?” Minsoo started awkwardly. 

“Wonder why,” Dongho hyung replied with a wary look at Jaewon. Minsoo shook his head.

“That’s not the point. I figure that it’s time we keep our promises.”

“Promises?”

“Do you remember? That one free night before we started prepping for debut?” Jaewon suddenly added. They all turned to him. Daehyun nodded a little, and Minsoo prompted a little.

“It was rare, how often did Jaewon really join us?”

Jaewon looked over at the city.

“Yeah, I guess I just didn’t want to be a burden,” the redheaded member admitted.

“Impossible!” Minsoo harrumphed, getting odd looks from the others.

“No, I remember. Vaguely? I think we promised that we’d look after each other, and that we’d be brothers,” Daehyun agreed.

“How drunk were we?” Dongho blinked at them. 

Daehyun laughed, and Jaewon smiled.

It was pretty.

“I also promised that I’d try not to keep secrets from you guys-“ Minsoo felt his heart beat quicken and his stomach writhe in anticipation “-so here goes. I’ve had an inferiority complex since I was little. ‘Cause I was always in my hyung’s shadow.”

Dongho and Daehyun turned in shock, even the stoic Dongho’s eyes were wide.

“What kind of reaction is that?!” He couldn’t help himself from being dramatic.

“It’s a little unexpected,” Daehyun admitted. 

“Everything about me is unexpected!” Minsoo leapt to his feet with a heroic pose, cracking the serious mood.

“Don’t be a drama queen,” Daehyun wrapped his arms around Minsoo’s leg and he sat back down.

“Thanks for calling me a queen, but I won’t,” he snarked. “But it’s been something that has always been this little asshole voice in my head.”

And then he told them. About how he could never beat Minsung. About how he stole a dream from him, and laughed in his face upon seeing it blossom in his hands instead of Minsoo’s. 

“So that’s why video games are so important to you,” Dongho commented upon Minsoo finally finishing. “I’m sorry, for calling them a waste of time.”

“Aww, hyung!” Daehyun’s eyes were watery. Minsoo opened his cup, steam blowing little tendrils into his face.

“The worst part is, I just can’t hate him. It’s this warring thing, as I being childish? Or am I fighting for a long-held desire for just one victory?” The words just didn’t stop, this nagging self-hatred free from the bottle it was allowed to build itself up in.

Jaewon wrapped an arm over Minsoo’s shoulders, an act of casual intimacy that they’d grown accustomed to.

“I think you’ve already done him one better,” his voice was quiet. “You’re more determined and motivated than he’ll ever be.“

The words made him freeze.

Sometimes, Jaewon gave him little insights into how he saw the world. He didn’t realize that he was like that in Jaewon’s eyes. 

“Hyung... you look like you’re not surprised,” Daehyun looked to Jaewon, who gave an awkward smile.

“He told me?”

That got a nod from the youngest.

“I can’t say I get it completely, what it’s like in your eyes-“ Dongho took a long sip of his hot chocolate and added “-but I have a pretty messy family history too. Minsoo knows about it but I guess I’ve never mentioned it to you guys. It’s not something I ever really wanted to talk about.”

“It’s weird, how easy the words come once you start,” Minsoo laughed. Dongho gave him a little smile, and Daehyun cheered loudly.

“Bonding!”

Jaewon watched as Daehyun told them about Minyoung. The guilt of saying nothing and watching her grow into a person with severe self-hatred. There was a dawning understanding on Minsoo’s face as every piece of the puzzle fit itself together.

“She has her own complex, I think. She needs to feel wanted,” Jaewon looked at him. 

“When she kissed you, I saw,” Daehyun admitted.

Remembering that day made goosebumps rise all over his skin.

“And I knew, I knew it wasn’t you. Your eyes were wide with this hunted look and it was her hands on you. And you just... you just told her not to do that and left.”

“I didn’t know you-“

“I know, I know you didn’t know, but I think I should have let you,” the words came out faster from the makane, as he looked Jaewon in the eyes. He blinked in response.

“Really?”

“Minyoung told me about the meeting, where there was a picture someone took and they were talking about releasing it, making you guys have a relationship. But you had said no.” Daehyun paused. “But she never really told me much about it, she just said that our CEO was very different from hers.”

“He was nice, when I met him,” Jaewon distantly recalled. He wondered, if that was the company he was under, would things be different?

But no, he wouldn’t change what got them there, because there were people who he never spent time with and somehow made such an imprint on his heart. He wouldn’t have found them anywhere else. And a niggling fear of who would have had his role took place. He wouldn’t wish that on anyone.

They all looked at their drinks, and Minsoo leaned up against Jaewon. He smelled like Jaewon’s shampoo, and Jaewon kinda liked it.

“Wyld?”

The name made him stiffen. 

“I don’t think hyung likes being called his stage name off duty,” Daehyun commented, and Jaewon shot him a grateful look.

“Got it, Jaewon then?” And the name switch was that easy, they all watched him take out his phone and switch the contact name. Daehyun put his head in Jaewon’s lap. It was new, but not unwelcome. These friendly touches and the newfound physical closeness that told him that things were healing.

“You know, there’s also a lot we don’t know about you, hyung,” Daehyun looked up at him.

It was his turn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hyung Line: Does anything together  
> Daehyun: *staring, munching on popcorn*
> 
> Comments are my fuel ;-;


	12. Chapter 12

“I don’t even know where to start,” Jaewon laughed awkwardly. “There’s a lot we don’t know about each other.”

“We know some things,” Daehyun insisted. “Like that you like sharks, and drink too much coffee.”

The little things that made this warm fondness settle under Minsoo’s skin. 

“There  _ are _ things we don’t talk about,” Dongho agreed with Jaewon, making the redheaded member look more uncomfortable at the implication. 

“I suppose it makes sense that I never discussed it-“ Minsoo feels his own nerves clambering to his skin when Jaewon finishes his sentence “-Considering that none of it is true?”

Silence. 

Then a little splatter as hot chocolate spilled right out of Dae’s gaping mouth against the lid of his drink. 

“Y-you what?” Dongho finally asked. Jaewon looked uncomfortable and Minsoo could see the nervous sweat shining on the rapper’s neck.

“I- I’m not a playboy. I’ve never been a playboy. I don’t hook up in clubs and I’ve never wanted to, I don’t even like girls-“ Jaewon was rambling now, and Minsoo almost wanted to stop him. But he shouldn’t, because this was Jaewon letting everything loose. 

But still, Minsoo put a hand on his, and the younger let out a deep breath, relaxing. 

“Then why doesn’t the company do anything about it?” Daehyun looked between him and Jaewon. Minsoo scowled at the reminder of how fucked up their situation was.

“Trust me, I wasn’t too happy when I found out, either.”

The others immediately caught on to something being wrong.

“You found out recently, was that why you were being so weird?” Dongho turned his questioning eyes on him. He just nodded.

“The company- I can’t say it.” Jaewon tried to speak and stopped. Minsoo turned to him.

“Do you want me to?”

“Please,” Jaewon replied, burying his head in Minsoo’s chest. He wrapped his arms around the taller-but-younger member. “I want it said but I  _ just can’t do it _ _._ ”

“The company doesn’t want to do anything because this was their doing,” Minsoo announced. He felt a little guilty saying a message that wasn’t his. But if Jaewon couldn’t speak, Minsoo had promised to be his voice.

Again, silence.

“ _What?” _ Dongho snarled, cracking the silence. Daehyun looked like he was about to cry.

“What do you mean, this was their doing?”

“Jaewon’s wild image- _Wyld_ \- was _created_ by the company to get more attention,” Minsoo repeated. 

“They- I hate this. I hate how much sense this makes,” Daehyun bit his lip. “Why the company never said anything about the scandals, or planned appearances every time one happened instead of keeping us out of sight. Or why they never got us a dorm.”

Dongho leapt to his feet, and began to pace.

There was more that they weren’t even realizing, and maybe never will. They may never understand what it means to be looked at the way people looked at Wyld, spoken down to the way he was. The hate comments and eyes and orders that ended up in spectacularly planned disaster. 

Daehyun almost got up to stop him, but stopped when Minsoo shook his head. It was something they didn’t understand, all they understood was that Jaewon was being forced, and that alone was terrible. But the things that came with it were worse, and that hadn’t sunk in. And how terrible did it feel, to know that they hadn’t been on his side? There was so much guilt in Minsoo’s chest that he sometimes felt unworthy to look at Jaewon. 

“Why weren’t we told?” Their youngest member asked so plaintively that it hurt.

“Jaewon didn’t want us to know,” Minsoo admitted. “I found out due to an accident and he decided to tell you. But I guess it was too much to say a bad word about another person, for him.” Dongho let out an agitated sigh as he sat back down, eyes serious.

“Too much?

“Hah! Won-ah is the _biggest_ sweetheart! You think he’d ever say something mean?” Minsoo made the declaration so proudly that the nickname slipped by and he only noticed when he saw Daehyun’s feral grin.

“I can be mean!” Jaewon protested, but the effect was lost against the muffle of Minsoo’s chest.

“Really?” Dongho sounded so fond and it made Minsoo smile. Jaewon was someone that you couldn’t not be fond of.

Him being hot as sin was just a bonus.

“Why tell us now?” Daehyun asked, putting a hand on Jaewon’s back. The rapper spoke in a voice so shaky with sobs that it made Minsoo’s chest hurt.

“I’m so tired of being alone. I don’t  _ want _ to be alone-“

“You’re not alone. You’ll never be alone.” Daehyun swore. Minsoo could feel tears grow a spot on his chest, but he could see the wide smile painted across Jaewon’s face.

And Minsoo couldn’t help but feel his chest grow warm.

“Hold up, you said you didn’t like girls?” Dongho turned to Jaewon, re-tensing the mood. He really was spilling everything tonight, wasn’t he? 

But screw society saying it was wrong and screw everyone because this was him and he wasn’t gonna hold onto any more secrets about who he was right now. Nerves bubbled under his skin, but for this second, he was going to say what was on his mind.

“I’m gay,” he replied. There was nothing else to be said about it. The others only nodded.

Minsoo looked a little surprised, and something else, but there wasn’t any yelling or disgust. So that was a good sign?

Then he heard a giggle.

“That’s-“ Daehyun choked on a little laugh “-a _whole_ 180\. But I’m bi, if we get to talk about it now.” 

The comment really shouldn’t have caused this, but he started laughing. They accepted him. Things were going to be okay.

Minsoo reached over to high five the youngest.

“Bi-buddies!”

Minsoo was bi? Wait- why did that matter? Or rather, why did that make his heartbeat quicken?

“Wait, really?” Daehyun regarded his fellow vocalist with wide eyes. Minsoo beamed and Dongho nodded impassively.

“So I’m the only straight member?”

“I guess?” Minsoo hazarded. Dongho only shrugged.

Then he realized everyone was staring at him nervously. Waiting for a response.

“I grew up in America,” he reminded. “I’ve met plenty of LGBTQIA+ people before I came here.”

And- oh. 

Wasn’t that a relief? 

“About the company, what are we gonna do?” Their eldest member rested his chin in this laced fingers. They all turned to him, Minsoo vocalizing their point.

“Huh?”

“I’m not going to sit down and let them do this to you. What are we going to do?” Jaewon felt his hyung’s eyes on him. 

“We have the advantage,” Minsoo’s eyes grew serious, the glowing impassioned look he always got when he had a challenge he wanted to conquer, but somehow calmer, _darker_. Jaewon carefully refrained from calling it sexy. “They don’t know that we know.”

“So, what? How are we supposed to reveal it?” Dongho eyed their leader. 

“People are already asking. What if we just started answering?” The silver-haired member’s lit up. It was this excitement that made Jaewon’s chest warm.

“But people would ask why now. If it’s been so long,” their businesslike eldest pointed out. Minsoo frowned.

“Well, we only just found out.”

“That still sounds like a coverup,” Dongho hyung pointed out with a sip of his hot chocolate. “We want this airtight.”

“Any ideas?” Minsoo turned his serious look to Daehyun. 

“Sorry, just thinking that you two are unfairly hot when you get serious.”

Dongho choked on his drink.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Daehyun: Yes, I’m attracted to the hyung line, but can you blame me?  
> Minsoo: *running around, screaming*  
> Dongho:  
> Dongho: Yes.
> 
> Again, comments are my fuel. Feed me pls ;-;


	13. Chapter 13

“We have interviews, coming up with our next comeback. Right before the radio silence is supposed to begin,” Daehyun offered, after a long scolding from their visibly flustered eldest. How cute. 

“So if we begin to subtly expose things and build up this honest reputation, you think people will ask us straight out?” Dongho had the expression of a ruler debating a suggestion from an official, which as MAYHEM’s actual leader should have irked him but he couldn’t be bothered in the moment. 

“Without a doubt!” Daehyun beamed, and a smile cracked its way across Jaewon’s face when he saw it. It was something he’d noticed, Jaewon always seemed more likely to smile widely when they smiled. A plan made its way to the front of his mind.

“Alright, then here’s what we need to do for our next interview...”

They woke up in their own bodies, that day and the next, and up through the next week, it was all steady planning and working so hard that they’d crash on each other’s couches from time to time. 

And Minsoo knew that _something_ had changed between him and Jaewon since their stint as body swappers. He wasn’t clear when, or if that kiss had set off a chain reaction. But he was pretty damn sure what his heart in his chest was telling him was that he loved the younger idol and wanted to catch the moon for him. 

And strangely, he didn’t hate it. The blind affection and devotion he felt. If he really thought about it, he’d known for a long time. 

But there they were, waiting for an interview that could help build the scandal that would probably define their careers. 

Minsoo glanced up shyly, reaching his hands carefully to fix Jaewon’s collar. It felt like seconds fell into minutes, was that his heart beating like a broken metronome that couldn’t decide whether to stop or triple-time? Minsoo could smell the taller man’s shampoo, feel his hair against his fingers. Was that sweat making the buttons fumble? _Ugh_.

“Uh... here,” he finally said after what felt like ten years. 

Jaewon beamed and set off with a chirp of,

“Thanks! You’re such a helpful friend!”

“I’m glad,” Minsoo said and smiled this- this beautiful _smile_ that wasn’t just a playful smirk but something more- more real. Jaewon wanted to be a cause of that smile forever. The word forever used to scare him, but it hadn’t when he thought about the other. There wasn’t anything heavy or scary- just promises and linked hands and the feeling that everything has been righted in the world. Things had been healing, too, with these promises of forever and always and never. How could he hate such words? He took a few more steps, looking right down in his hyung’s face. 

It was a stupid impulse, but he lifted his hyung’s hand, looked him in the eyes, and kissed his fingertips. 

Minsoo hyung laughed, leaning over to kiss Jaewon on the nose.

Flushing, he slapped his hand over Minsoo’s mouth, before almost yanking it back in apology. But his hyung had already wrapped a hand around his wrist, not letting him go.

There was a weird twitch against his skin. Oh. Was that his hyung smiling against his skin?

It was nice.

There was a cough, from a nearby Dongho hyung. They turned to look at him, seeing him look away awkwardly, cheeks pink.

“Maybe a little less straight than I thought,” their eldest admitted. 

Minsoo hyung choked.

”THAT WAS ALL IT TOOK?!”

Their eldest shrugged, face returning to its regular stoic expression. Minsoo hyungie glared.

“You’re in your twenties! How did you not know if a simple interaction could do that to you?! We weren’t even having se-“

Jaewon decided now was a good time to cover his mouth again. Ignoring how the implication made his heart pound. Because under all the love, he really couldn’t deny that he was _attracted-attracted_ to his leader.

A sudden, ominous chanting, caught their attention.

“ _One of us, one of us, one of us_ ,” Daehyun whispered, eyes wide with glee. “C’mere, hyung!” Their makane stretched his arms wide and leapt at their eldest, who  _jumped_ out of the way, ears a brilliant red.

So that was what could make his impassive hyung show visible embarrassment.

Against his chest- where he was apparently holding Minsoo hyung, how did  _that_ happen? -he felt the tremors of laughter. Jaewon smiled. 

When they were four, it was like their collective brain cells went on a separate vacation. Very far away.

But there was no other way that he’d have it.

They filed in, greeting the camera, following standard interview procedure. How have they been doing lately, new hobbies, etcetera. It wasn’t until one of the hosts gave him a look and asked what they’d look for in a girl that he realized the questioned fueled by rumors had begun their rounds. 

How tempting was it to say a y-chromosome? 

Insanely.  


He almost blurted it out when they got to him.

“I- I guess I’d want a person who does their best to be there for me, a person who does their best to see through facades,” he began with no gendered words, immediately knowing exactly what - who - he wanted. “Someone who motivates me, and tried to support me.”

He stole a glance at Minsoo hyung, who seemed none the wiser, and let out a little breath of relief. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> JaeSoo: *cuddling*  
> Jaewon: I wonder why everyone thinks we’re a couple  
> Minsoo, with his head on Jaewon’s shoulder: No clue
> 
> Again, I feed on comments and validation ;-;


	14. Chapter 14

Lee Minsoo was freaking out.

Was Jaewon describing him? Did he want him to be? Of course he wanted him to be, who was he kidding?! But if he was, a heat formed in his cheeks. If Jaewon liked him back... could they...? 

He’d never really be jealous of the scandals he knew weren’t true, but Jaewon would be terrified of messing up. Meaning that it would have to wait. 

Alright! That means he needs to clean up his image! Determination’s fire was fed further. If he was serious about pursuing Jaewon, there were some obstacles, and Minsoo was nothing if not relentless.

“What are your drinking habits?” The same host as earlier. He almost seemed desperate to prove something, but it was a distraction and a useful question. Minsoo chose to be honest. 

“Won-ah and Dongho hyung don’t drink,” he answered offhandedly. “In fact, the only liquids I’ve ever seen Won-ah drink are coffee, and very rarely water or hot chocolate.”

“Yeah, but you like to!” Daehyun poked. He laughed a little. 

“I do! I like yogurt soju best!”

“He’s deep, when he drinks. Idealistic to the max,” Dongho hyung offered.

“Excuse me,” he sassed. “I’m always idealistic to the max!”

Not true, but it got a laugh out of the other occupants of the room. 

“I’m serious, if you’re going out drinking and you’re trying to invite a member, Minsoo hyung and I are the most likely to say yes. Jaewon hyung almost always refuses. But Dongho hyung is a reliable designated driver!”

“Almost always?” The hosts eyes lit up, hoping to be a source of juicy information or even a scandal, since  _ apparently _ Wyld gave no shits about those.

“We’ve gone out drinking exactly once, right before we started preparing for our debut,” Jaewon told them. One of the hosts leered at him while he spoke. The “exactly once” made his eyes dim. He almost sounded dejected when he spoke.

“Really?”

Daehyunah nearly glared at him and Minsoo caught it. He was trying to keep the hate train on Jaewon because of the painting of Wyld. Asshole. He was lucky that Minsoo was exerting all of his self-control then. Because he’d have punched him in the halls of a company building. Stupid cameras.

“Actually, I think a picture of that night was Jaewonnie hyung’s lock screen for a while.” Daehyun pondered, and Minsoo caught on even further. They wanted the night to sound as sappy as possible. Just to fuck with him. 

“It is,” he told the youngest, with a wink. His eyes lit up in recognition before continuing.

“Still?”

“Yeah,” Jaewon blushed.

“Ah! You  _ cannot _ keep being this cute, it isn’t fair!” Minsoo let out a theatric whine and sunk his face to the table. The other hosts got a kick out of that.

“You describe Wyld as _cute_?” The sketchy host raised an eyebrow. 

“No, Jaewon hyungie is cute. It’s complicated. Jaewon is the person we see and very much adore!” Daehyun began. Dongho sighed, the picture of an exasperated eldest member.

“Ahn Jaewon is either a stray kitten or a shy puppy and I’m not even sure which.”

“Okay but we’re talking about the person who blushes easily, likes long walks in the park or museums, wears his glasses when he reads and is generally a self-sacrificing and loving person. Shy. Puppy.” Daehyun argued. As a dog lover, Minsoo couldn’t help but wholeheartedly agree. 

Jaewon was a brilliant red, eyes wide, brow furrowed, and was trying to bury his face in his shirt. Some of the buttons popped open in the process, revealing _more expanses of smooth skin_ \- BAD MINSOO. BAD!

“Blushe- hey! He’s doing it right now!” A nicer host was amazed. To be honest, for the sake of images, MAYHEM almost never had interviews. So seeing Jaewon in real time is like a culture shock from the expectations of Wyld. But they’d been in so much demand that the company had agreed to a few. Minsoo had made Jaewon unavailable to the CEO so the CEO had no opportunity for demands.

“Wait! Does this give us an excuse to shower him in compliments?!” Minsoo lit up. _This_ was the good stuff. “I can talk for hours!”

“Nooooo,” a little, so small it was either sad or cute, whine came from Jaewon. This wasn’t anything other than shyness, one that Minsoo had come to recognize and find adorable. 

“He’s kind. Always kind! And he’s cute in glasses.” Minsoo started, for Daehyun to cut in.

“What a pity he only wears them when he reads. Jaewonnie hyung! Wear glasses more often, please!”

“He also has a humiliating knack for wrong-place-wrong-time situations,” Dongho’s eyes were blankly _innocent_. Daehyun and Minsoo shared a look. Subtle hints. It was go time.

“And he doesn’t even tell us about them until much later,” Minsoo huffed. “And by then I’m willing to bet money that Dongho hyung is willing to wrap him in blankets and fight the entire world to protect him!”

They all turned to the aforementioned member.

He was silent for a moment.

“Keep your money,” his only hyung decided on saying.

“That’s him saying Minsoo hyung is right!” Daehyun cheerfully explained to the dumbstruck hosts who had long lost control of the situation.

“What do you like doing in your spare time?” A host, trying to reclaim control, asked. They fell back in line.

“I choreograph or produce,” Dongho answered. 

“I like to play music! Or volunteer!” Daehyun chimed.

“You know me! Video games!” Minsoo laughed, even with the sad expressions cracking like lighting and disappearing on the other members’ faces.

“I read, and I go on walks. I have a friend who I see from time to time,” Jaewon added quietly.

“What’s her name?” The rude host asked with a laugh.

“It’s a guy. And since he isn’t famous, he wouldn’t appreciate me giving out his name,” Jaewon responded, uncharacteristically firm. Though he always was protective, Minsoo supposed. The gruff tattoo guy, probably, now that he considered it. A stab of worry made is way through his mind. Was there someone else?

”If you were a girl, which member would you date and why?” Another host cut in, seeing Jaewon’s annoyance, captured probably for the first time on camera... ever.

“Dongho hyung! ‘Cause he’s handsome and reliable! And when he’s soft, he’s cute!“ Daehyun wrapped his arms around the eldest, who shook him off.

Anchovy.

“Cut it out,” Dongho glared at the pouting makane. 

“Meeeanie! I take it back, I’d date Jaewon!”

“You have to say why!” He chirped, knowing in his heart of hearts that Daehyun wouldn’t because Daehyun didn’t feel the same way he did. Their makane was really honest, he’d have told Jaewon by now.

“Because when he loves somebody, he’s the type to only love them, and care deeply about them. So if I dated him and he loved me, I could love him deeply and feel safe about it,” Dae’s eyes were shining and Minsoo felt his heart grow warm again. Seeing Jaewon receive affection he deserved was like the satisfaction of breaking a diet. 

No.

That didn’t even cover it.

This was thing that caused a fulfillment similar to what he felt on stage surrounded by beloved fans. Love. He really, really loved to see Jaewon happy and loved.

Jaewon blushed. He felt like a big blush by now. 

“I’d also date Won-ah!” Minsoo hyung agreed. It wasn’t real. When he said that, was it? He wanted it to be.

He...

He wanted it to be. He’d admitted it. He was head over heels for Lee Minsoo. 

...oh.

Oh.

“I’d date him because I’m already so fond of him. You can’t meet Won-ah and not be fond of him!” Minsoo hyung declared it like fact. It made him happy. 

Dongho did the classic Tsundere “I’d date myself” and then it was Jaewon’s turn.

“Um, Minsoo hyung? I think?” Jaewon tried, before pausing. It wasn’t like he was wrong. Minsoo hyung was what he wanted in a person. Again, every time he was supposed to be talking about romance, it was the shortest member who stuck in his mind. Then again, he did want Minsoo hyung like that, so... “He motivates me, and does his best to be there for me.” 

Minsoo responded by getting out of his chair to tackle Jaewon into a hug. Not that he minded, anyhow. It was nice.

“How would someone get your special attention?”

“I don’t understand the question,” Jaewon admitted. A host smiled (smiled!) at him and explained.

“How do fans get your attention?”

“I see a lot of what fans post. Almost every tweet or fan art I’m tagged in and many I’m not. I’m pretty active on social media, I just don’t post a lot.”

“You do?” The same host asked, concerned. Oh, so he understood what Jaewon’s mentions page mostly looked like.

“Yeah,” Jaewon looked off into a distance that wasn’t really visible, sadness creeping in. “Yeah.”

A hand laced its fingers through his, and to nobody’s surprise, it was Minsoo. He smiled weakly at the leader, who smiled brightly back. Sometimes, Jaewon didn’t know where the silver haired idol got it from. 

Daehyun looked between them and the host, recognition dawning on his face. It was a quick look, further horror, the same expression as when he’d told them the truth. It seems the ugliest parts of the picture were being brought a little to light too. Jaewon, now, didn’t try to stop it. Maybe he should, but he didn’t. 

“Please don’t,” Daehyun suddenly spoke, eyes watery and voice cracking. Jaewon felt worry build in his gut, maybe he should have downplayed it. “Hyung, please don’t.”

“You’re telling him not to look at fan posts, Daehyun?” The sketchy host, looking for a scandal, asked faux-innocently. Jaewon knew the type. The sliminess was like a watered-down version of the CEO’s.

“I’m telling him not to look at social media without letting us screen things first. I’m sick of people being mean to my hyung who works so hard when they don’t even know a full story.” Daehyun responded with a watery glare aimed at everyone and nobody. And by that, Jaewon meant the table.

It was dangerously close to the edge of straight out telling the truth. But Daehyun never has been the most subtle.

A host with a kind face cut in, deciding to change the subject. Thank goodness.

“What's the member just younger than you’s most annoying flaw?” It was a playful subject, that gave Daehyun time to wipe his eyes and smirk at Dongho hyung.

“Can I do Dongho hyung, then?”

The hosts nodded, and the eldest looked at the youngest warily. Minsoo hyung poked Dongho hyung, eyes expectant.

“Loud,” Dongho pursed his lips.

Minsoo hyung jokingly yelled at him, which brought down the house. Then Minsoo looked at Jaewon. Anxiousness made nervous sweat slide down his brow. What would he say?

“It’s more bothersome for me, than it is generally annoying-“ he started for Daehyun to cut him off.

“So you admit you being loud is annoying,” the makane leered. Dongho flicked the blonde member’s ear.

“YAH!” Minsoo turned on Daehyun with more yelling that made one of the friendlier hosts laugh so hard that he fell off of his chair, wheezing. 

“Anyway,” Minsoo huffed. “It’s bothersome to me, but I’d never ask Jaewon to change. The truth is that Jaewon doesn’t like to tell people what’s bugging him, and hates saying anything remotely bad about anyone. Even if they hurt him.”

“Really?” A host prompted Jaewon. Jaewon looked away awkwardly.

“Uh... I wouldn’t say-“

“When we were trainees, someone dumped their soup in your lap- their steaming hot soup that ruined your clothes- and  _ you _ apologized to  _ him _ .” Dongho rolled his eyes.

“I didn’t know you saw that,” Jaewon admitted. Dongho huffed.

“Of course I did. I do notice some things.”

Dongho hyung had kept an eye on him? Why?

“You trained together as a project before officially becoming a group preparing for debut,” a host recalled. Dongho hyung nodded.

Jaewon realized everyone was watching him.

“Oh... uh... it’s my turn, isn’t it...” he mulled and Minsoo hyung cackled. But he really didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. He already did enough of that with his existence. 

“I can’t think of anythi-“ he was cut off by a laugh from the leader.

“See, won’t insult anyone or anything,” Minsoo hyung wheezed.

“Pleeeeease?” Daehyun pouted. It was clearly a joke, but the hosts had already begun joking commentary on how impossible an insult from Wyld must be to come by. Which... um...

“Um... you’re... I’ve got nothing,” he tried, anxiety spiking through his body. “Can I pass?”

There was some joking protests but the others laughed it off and the interview continued smoothly, all the way through to the end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DaeSooHo: *Showering Jaewon with his much deserved affection*  
> Jaewon, bright red: Due to mysterious circumstances, I will now initiate Turtle Mode.
> 
> Comments,,, pls,,, my inbox is thirsty,,, ;-;


	15. Chapter 15

Minsoo scanned through Twitter, eyes searching out targets harder than any video game. He’d planned for Jaewon to be completely unavailable, by forcing all the members to practice at all hours. 

They were angry at the notion until they’d realized that if the CEO was cruel enough to Jaewon already, there had to be more to those meetings. Nevertheless, they were all together without the redheaded member, scanning the internet. 

Minsoo had made sure to snatch Jaewon’s phone, too.

“I’ve been looking around. There’s a lot of confusion, I guess since we weren’t ever publicly close?” Daehyun mused, reading further. “There is a bit of a disconnect, I guess. Since most people assumed that Jaewonnie hyung being sweet was him being fake and he was really just a callous womanizer and all that. But now they might be wondering if it’s the other way around.“

“Daehyun’s reaction to the comments and what we said about place and time, as well as his personality, are sparking debate,” Dongho summarized, as he looked through forums. “Half of them are convinced this is a coverup, and half are convinced there’s a conspiracy.”

“I used to think those people were the nutty ones but here we are,” Minsoo groused. “A lot of accounts that rarely talk about us are blowing up over Jaewon being cute, though.”

“Guys?” The aforementioned member opened the door. “I can’t seem to find my phone- what are you doing?”

They all jerked, Daehyun nearly slamming his laptop shut.

The room was awkwardly silent for a few minutes.

“You were serious? About the screening thing?” He looked around the room, eyes wide in disbelief.

“Yeah! All I’m seeing is people saying you’re cute! Really cute!” Daehyun chirped. 

“Cute...?” Jaewon looked so confused, and Minsoo wasn’t sure if the pain in his chest was because he shouldn’t be so confused or because he was just that adorable.

How had anyone ever thought that Ahn Jaewon was a womanizer?

“Hey, have you ever come busking with me? I don’t think I’ve brought you guys along before!” Daehyun abruptly changed the topic, like one of the cars making a turn in a car chase, a sharp turn.

“No, we haven’t. We should come support you,” Dongho mused. Daehyun beamed. 

“I’d like that a lot.”

It was only after Jaewon was out of earshot that he turned to them.

“Maybe someone will catch a slip up on camera?”

“You’re brilliant,” Minsoo found himself enthusing. His ginormous friend beamed, and wrapped his arms around Minsoo.

“You caught on quick, hyung!” He decided it wouldn’t hurt to feed Dongo’s insufferable ego just a bit.

“No, I was just thinking that we should. Support Daehyun doing things solo, I mean.”

“I... oh,” Daehyun managed, ears pink.

Minsoo suddenly smelled sawdust and heard hammers. And by that, he meant that he was building a ship. Sunshine and ice prince, stoic and cute! Jaewon would be ecstatic! 

Was he seriously building a ship and coming out with how his crush would react? He was so done for.

So they did end up going, and cheering Daehyunnie on. He looked so happy to see them there, that he openly hugged them and turned the busking into some sort of unauthorized fanmeet.

“I have a question! Is it true that Wyld willingly goes to clubs?!” A brave fan asked. That was... forward. Daehyun laughed.

“Hyung? Willingly go to clubs? The last time he went was because someone dropped their cash and he was chasing her to return it.”

The crowd listening in froze. 

“ _Hey! Touch your hair if you hate your company!_ ” A far off voice screamed. 

Like clockwork, the other members began fixing their hair. Jaewon gaped. That was also so forward! Why had none of their fanmeets been like this? He looked at the other members, their faces so innocent as Minsoo spoke up.

“I didn’t hear you, what?”

They shook some hands, signed some autographs, before Jaewon’s phone buzzed with a text. 

It was the CEO, demanding that he leave whatever they were doing, because his image was in danger.

Tapping his hyung’s shoulder, he showed it to Minsoo. 

“I think I have to go?” He whispered, fans cheering questions and Daehyun cheering answers back. Minsoo shook his head, face pale. 

“Stay.”

“What’s up?” Dongho leaned over, until he saw the text, and his eyes narrowed with rage. 

“Yeah, you have no reason for a solo meeting right now. You’re staying here.”

A fan caught their interaction and yelled out.

“Who’s texting Wyld?!”

The fans gasped, and stared, eyes wide. Were they about to see a scandal in real time?

“The CEO texted me! He keeps a special eye on me,” he winked at the girl mischievously. But the crowd could clearly see the upset looks on the other members’ faces and connect that the text from the CEO wasn’t a good one. He could hear some of the people talking.  


(“Was it because the meeting was not authorized?”

“That’s not on them, though? Like... what are they supposed to do? Ignore their fans? They’d never!”

”Did Wyld mess up again? Is there a Dispatch article?”

“I don’t see anything about him on Twitter?”

”Yeah, Dispatch has been quiet lately.”

”Is the CEO protecting his artists for once?”

“I don’t think that’s it. Remember that one rumor that Wyld wasn’t actually a playboy and was just a wannabe for the sake of ruining their group?”

”Yeah?”

”Maybe there’s a different reason, after all.”

“What?”

”What I’m saying is... how do I put this? Does it have to do with Daehyun saying that Wyld doesn’t go to clubs willingly?”

”What? Like those conspiracies are real, you mean?”

”Didn’t you see the pure panic on Wyld’s face? I think... they might be?”

”Why are the members all upset? It doesn’t look like they’re mad at Wyld?”

”Did something happen back at the company?”)

  
They waved and smiled at the fans, before picking up and leaving. Dongho carried Daehyun’s guitar, and Jaewon some wires and other equipment. Minsoo carried his chair. 

“G-guys! I can carry my own stuff!”

“Yeah, but today we’re your groupies!” Jaewon smiled, ignoring the whispers because today they meant nothing. Today, he didn’t care. “My superstar dongsaeng!”

Daehyun beamed, ears pinking. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mini-Hogwarts AU
> 
> Dongho: ‘Let’s revive a fly?!’ What kinda idiotic idea was that, huh?! You know that you can’t raise the dead! What on earth are you trying to do, experimenting with ILLEGAL magic?!
> 
> Dongho: You guys-! Seriously! What’s the one thing I told you not to do tonight?
> 
> Daehyun, guilty: Raise the dead
> 
> Dongho: And what did you do?
> 
> Minsoo: Raised the dead.
> 
> Jaewon, opening the door: Hey! What did I... miss?
> 
> (Please... comments fuel me...)


	16. Chapter 16

Jaewon had gone to a meeting, like a cornered animal. He’d come back, and unwillingly dressed up to go to a club. Minsoo had forced the younger to bring him with. The others had wanted to come, but he’d waved them off. Four was suspicious, two was fine.

That had negated things, because what would it be if it was the two members hanging out? A dispatch reporter watched with his eyes like a hawk, but kept Jaewon entertained enough for the to leave the way they came- together. And while the idea of them going to a club, Jaewon looking like  _ that _ , and leaving together was very hot, it was nice just to chat. Though he’d prefer to play video games, Jaewon succeeded when he tried to look hot and that was deadly. 

But the next day, pictures came out of them hanging out together, and everyone dismissed them. It was an obvious change for that now-obviously unhappy look in all the previous dispatch photos. It didn’t disprove what Daehyun had said about willingly going. At all. It looked more like he’d dragged out the younger who’d ended up actually having fun with him. In fact, some fans pointed out that they never actually drank anything. Or even danced, all that much, just hung out by the table. 

But what was bothering him were the looks on the other members faces as they dragged him out instead of letting him screen with them. Though he supposed it was because he was technically involved in the scandal. But they’d already said something to Jaewon before telling him about the reactions, Minsoo was worried. 

Why take him to the Han river? He rolled his drink bottle between his palms. What were the going to tell him? 

“What’s going on? Is this about the scandal still?”

“No... it’s about your brother,” Jaewon admitted, hand laced with his. His thumb was rubbing a soothing motion, a little thing that made him feel grounded. So he bit the bullet.

“What... what happened?”

“A reaction to their auditions video came out... and Minsung... well the members liked the song and admitted that they’d never heard it. And he said...” Daehyun was lying on his stomach, blankly staring at the river.

“What did he say?!” Panic flooded his veins. 

“He said that you had made it,“ Dongho‘s voice was stoic. “As a kid, preparing for your own audition to the same company. This was the something that he’d stolen, wasn’t it?” 

He hadn’t even yelled, so why did his voice feel so  _ raw _ ?

“Yeah, that was what he’d stolen,” Minsoo admitted. 

“That asshole!” Daehyun launched himself into a surprisingly tight hug, arms around him. “But was this why they thought that I’d dragged Jaewon out?” He looked at them. 

“Yeah, it was,” Daehyun sighed.

“Let’s review the facts. The night we were supposed to make a scandal, which I attempted to negate by being a second person, was actually negated because my brother said something about me, and people think that I was upset by that?” He looked around them. Dongho paused.

“Well... aren’t you?”

“I am. It’s just... why bring it up now?” He felt a little lost. Daehyun’s hold tightened. 

“I think they already knew. What are the chances this is to flaunt the connection between our groups because we’re always in the news?”

“A connection that doesn’t exist,” Minsoo’s voice came out icy.

The makane let go, shocked by the pure amount of cold _rage_. So Minsoo chose to lay back, and splay his arms through the grass. 

“So... um... what are we gonna do about this, hyung?” Jaewon peeked his far-too-pretty eyes through his lashes.

“I say call him out,” a wicked grin crossed Daehyun’s face.

“But would they believe him?” Jaewon pointed out, eyes drooping. The other two frowned and Minsoo decided that he didn’t want to talk about it. That asshole had stolen a lot from him, ruined a lot of his relationships, but these three were his and his name wasn’t going to ruin it. 

“SHUT UP AND LET ME BE ONE WITH THE GRASS,” Minsoo screamed.

“Care to explain how I literally heard that in all caps?” Jaewon giggled, and Minsoo shot him a look.

“Oh I don’t know, yelling?!”

The teasing remark fell flat.

“Sorry, I’m sure this makes you angry and I’m probably not helping,” Jaewon looked over at the river. Minsoo wanted to address Jaewon apologizing for literally _breathing_ but he had a lot more on his mind, for the first time in a while it overtook the consistent thoughts of the second youngest.

“And I hate that it does! Why is it that I’m only credited now? After everything I’ve suffered because of that asshole?!” He shot up in rage, before turning to the others, and miraculously managing to catch all three in a hug.

“Mine. You guys are  _ mine _ . Not his. Fuck his name, he isn’t tainting this.”

He isn’t sure who had hugged him back first, but they stayed hugging like that for a while.

“You’re literally still full of rage when you’re being sappy,” Daehyun laughed.

“You salted slug,” he pouted, burying his face in the conveniently placed Jaewon hair available to him.

“Turd lord,” Daehyun shot back, with zero malice.

“That’s so childish,” Dongho commented offhandedly. “And beside the point. I should have said it back then, but your brother kinda seems like a dick.”

“Whoa! The icy hyung cursed!” Daehyun laughed, throwing himself on the eldest, who made no move to stop him. Cute.

“If you get a significant other and they screw you over like this, there’s no blood bond stopping us from destroying them,” Dongho pointed out. Oh. He was saying that he’d protect him?

Was this what having a hyung was supposed to mean?

“Can’t we just neglect it for Minsung?” Daehyun’s suggestion sounded terrifyingly innocent. He decided that he needed to actually exercise his leader role before they wound up in jail.

“You say that like you can do anything, Anchovy,” he sniped. The beanpole of a human gave him an exaggerated pout in response.

“We’d kill ‘em,” Jaewon huffed, with that rare firmness he had when he was protective. And for him . _He was acting out of the ordinary and out of his comfort zone for him_ . 

Butterflies. In. Stomach.   
  


He felt a lot of love from just being protected by the first two, but for Jaewon to actually be willing to go so far against himself on Minsoo’s behalf?

Nevertheless, he gave them a classic response. 

“No, you cannot kill my future boyfriend if he messes up, that’s MY job!” 

He knew that Jaewon would cry if he messed up, chances were he’d never actually kill him. The thought made him smile slightly, and run a hand through red hair. Jaewon looked like a surprised puppy, before giving him a slight smile. He found his own smile getting larger.

“Why say only boyfriend? I’d fight a girl too,” Dongho grumbled, making him chuckle awkwardly. Had he been too obvious about a crush?

“Hyung has a crush!” 

Damn it, Dae.

“I don’t!” 

“Suuuuuurre,” Daehyun smirked. Then he realized that Minsoo was carefully watching them. “Hold up, is it one of _us_?!”

“ _Cut it out!_ ”

Jaewon was... 89% sure that Daehyun was teasing Minsoo. And a much tinier part wondered if that crush was him. 

Nevertheless, their manager picked them up. They had a photo shoot in a few hours, and they needed to go early for makeup and stuff.

But at the second, he was alone. He had been finished first, a teasing noona telling him not to mess it up. That was when another guy came in. Fake leather jacket, ripped jeans, stubble, orange hair slicked back. He was definitely handsome, tall and broad, but the leer on his face made Jaewon want to leave.

The guy left him no opportunity.

“So, I hear you mess around with girls,” his voice was deep and his hands raised goosebumps as rubbed Jaewon’s arm, eyes suggestive. “Think you’re wild enough to try a guy? I’ll make you feel real-“ he put his hand on Jaewon’s thigh “- _real_ good.”

He didn’t _want_ this. What he wanted was to scrub where this guy was touching him and maybe cry. He looked away, silently pleading for help. What could he do? This person was bigger and if he fought back and hurt him than he’d be the one accused. He had no way out.

_Please_ , he pleaded to the heavens, _someone come help me_.

It came in the form of Lee Minsoo. All he had to do was look, and his hyung gave them a once over. 

“Who the fuck are you and what the _fuck_ do you think you’re doing touching my dongsaeng.”

“Me?” The guy stood up, finally taking his hands off of Jaewon, which made him relax, but only slightly because his nerves felt like they were still on the edge of a full blown panic attack. He was taller than Minsoo, a little shorter than Dongho hyung. “To you, pipsqueak, it’s STYXX.”

Oh. He was from the heavy rock group one of the companies were apparently trying out. Like a band and a dark concept. Jaewon didn’t listen to their stuff, but according to Dongho hyung, their music sucked. They also had a shoot, he’d forgotten that they’d mentioned them, his mind deliriously gave in. He was safe. Minsoo had made him safe.

“What a stupid stage name!” Minsoo wheezed. “Who named you?!”

“Hey! My company gave me that!“ The guy growled. Minsoo grabbed him by the lapels of his fake leather jacket and yanked him down to eye level.

“Whatever. Stay away from my my members,  _Twig_ . Or you’ll see exactly why they say smaller people have more rage.”

“Oh?” The other guy challenged.

“I’ll kill you. Touch Jaewon without permission one more time, and I’ll _kill_ you. _Brutally_. And they won’t find the body,” his hyung snarled. Dongho hyung and Daehyun ah walked over.

“What’s wrong?”

“This dick made advances on Won-ah, inappropriate and unwanted,” Minsoo spit. Dongho’s entire demeanor shifted, and so did Daehyun’s.

They were protecting him. Oh. But he needed to stop them. A fight wouldn’t do the members well and nobody would believe someone who said that _STYXX_ had  _come on_ to _Wyld_ .  _ Or _ that _Wyld_ hadn’t  _ wanted _ it. He knew, that he’d been helpless and they were helping, but this rage was like drinking poison and thinking that someone else would die.

“G-guys- you’re gonna start a mes-“

“Hyung,” Daehyun interrupted him. “Did he touch you in places you didn’t want him to?”

“That’s not the problem!” Jaewon pleaded. “Please don’t fight him!”

“I told you, Ahn Jaewon, that we weren’t going to let people hurt you anymore. I don’t tell lies,” Dongho turned to him.

“Okay, but that’s the company! He has nothing to do with this! Can’t you just let him off? I don’t want you to waste the effort.”

“Fine,” his hyung frowned. “But punching this douche isn’t a waste of effort.”

Jaewon sighed, “the media wouldn’t believe you.”

They turned to him, eyes blowing wide with horrified understanding, while the other guy stalked off, spitting curses. Saying stuff like that Jaewon wasn’t even that attractive anyway and he’d clearly wanted it. Which... ugh. No he hadn’t.

“I hate this, that people treat you like that over a lie. You were uncomfortable and trying very obviously to avoid him. You don’t mess around and if anyone actually bothers to look, it’s obvious. We were idiots for not realizing, but I don’t want to sit through you being patient with all of this!” Minsoo growled, still looking like he wanted to rip off a few heads.

“I’m sick of all this hinting and beating around the bush,” Daehyun murmured. “Remind we why we can’t just outright say that you’ve never been in a relationship and never tried to mess around with a girl? I’m sick of acting like I don’t know exactly who forces you to pretend like this.”

“The CEO threatens him with all of our debts,” Minsoo hyung replied, eyes dark. 

Jaewon had almost forgotten that his hyung had found out by being him for a few days. Anxiety thrumming under his skin, he did his best to calm them. 

They stopped talking about it when the MAYHEMTV crew appeared at the door.

Otherwise? Their shoot went alright. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So....  
> I’ll just...  
> Leave this...  
> Here...
> 
> Minsoo: *standing in the middle of a flower field, looking into the distance*  
> Jaewon: What is he doing?  
> Dongho: “Vibing”
> 
> (I <3 Comments.  
> ...  
> Please.)


	17. Chapter 17

Jaewon looked uncomfortable for the rest of the day, but played it off well. Minsoo fought the bubbling rage and chose instead to just support the younger.

But when he woke up in Jaewon’s body again, he knew he was more put off than he admitted.

“I kinda hate this,” he grumbled to the flustered younger. Jaewon sighed, lifting a hand to run through Minsoo’s hair. 

“I guess then I’ll just tell you. MAYHEMTV crew caught everything. Since the moment STYXX walked in everything. The editing team cut it out but one of the noonas... she offered a way to leak it. I said I’d have to think about it but...”

“You want to say no,” he concluded. Jaewon nodded. He would take it, he supposed. But this needed to be Jaewon’s choice. He didn’t want to force him, because the thought of the people Jaewon trusted the most (because he was totally on that list) doing what the CEO did to hurt him made Minsoo physically ill. Jaewon seemed lost in thought.

“Is the universe saying that it’s gonna hurt me?”

“I guess?” Minsoo had no idea. But it’s sounded like it wouldn’t be a choice that didn’t hurt him more than it saved him.

“What are we gonna do? It’s not like we can keep switching back and forth over small things,” Jaewon flopped on his bed, making Minsoo wonder what it would look like it that really was Jaewon’s body- Nope. This mix of being head over heels and intensely attracted to your body swapping partner made things incredibly awkward. Speaking of...

“Well, that’s true, but I was just thinking, why did it switch us back the first time when we kissed?”

“What?” Jaewon sat up.

“If every other time it had to do with secrets, where did kissing come into the equation?”

“We didn’t have feelings for each other, back then, I’m sure,” Jaewon stressed in agreement.

Didn’t.

Because, maybe, they both did now.

He wasn’t sure if Jaewon noticed how he was towards him, but there’s something in the way that Jaewon looks at him and it’s changed. 

But that wasn’t the point.

“Do you think there will be a point where the universe stops intervening like this?”

“Please let there be!” Minsoo prayed. Jaewon nodded. Then he looked out the window.

“So what are we gonna do?”

About them? About the switching?

“Well... we have to hold of on why kissing was significant,” he mused. “We know that revealing secrets was some sort of initial goal.”

“There’s literally no other secret beyond the whole Wyld thing that actively hurts me,” Jaewon pointed out. “I can’t just feed secrets to this like logs to fire, because that’s the kind of secret that will actively hurt me.”

“And it’s definitely not a safe one to share,” he agreed.

“So... I take this deal and then what?”

“You’re gonna take it?”

Jaewon looked out the window, a million different things going through his eyes.

“I’m gonna say yes.“

The noona had seemed more relieved, admitting that they had all wanted to leak it and getting rid of such video evidence had haunted the crew and editing team. She said she’d let them know, and dashed off to tell the others.

He just hoped that this wasn’t some kind of test.

So he found himself, head in Minsoo’s lap, his hyung carding his hand in his hair.

“You smell nice,” he managed without actually purring like a cat. Minsoo hyung laughed, chuckles a pleasant rumble.

He didn’t realize if Minsoo hyung knew this, but this kind of intimacy with someone he liked made his heart go double time. At first, it had been his hyung who he’d desperately wanted to befriend. Sharing a bed, maybe a joke or two, and then it was new territory. A kiss that hadn’t meant anything at first weighed heavier as he realized exactly how precious his small hyung was. 

“Soo Ah,” he almost said out loud. His walking flame hyung, a fire that burned warmth and energy. Devoted and passionate.

It was dangerous, and could be a risk to all their sacrifices. He knew that. That their industry was built on expectations. That they couldn’t afford to be anything beyond what everyone saw as perfect and if it wasn’t perfectly good than a perfect disaster. That’s what Wyld had been. 

But he wanted to chase after his happiness, abandoning his fear of the repercussions like he had when he’d made a choice to be trainee.

He looked at his hyung. He knew with no doubt that his hyung was attracted to him, he hid it well, but Jaewon knew his body intimately (which shouldn’t make him blush but... you know how that sounded) and saw the reactions. But there was something else in the way his hyung looked at him. 

When he said that Jaewon was one of his people, but still, unconsciously, said that Jaewon was  _ his _ before the others. When he jumped in to protect him, or reacted so much to Jaewon saying he’d reciprocate. 

Couldn’t this be it? 

The kiss, was opening their secrets and creating more. The kiss, an open end that their body swapping had continued without closure.

The kiss, that he’d fix when he confessed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jaewon: Guys! I got to dye my hair!  
> Daehyun: Mint is a good color on you, hyung!  
> Minsoo, entering the room: I COME FOR YOUR SOUL  
> Minsoo:  
> Minsoo: Ooh! And a thin mint!  
> Jaewon:  
> Jaewon: Please don’t eat me.
> 
> (Comments are GR8, 10/10... pls give me attention uwu)


	18. Chapter 18

Minsoo was sure that Jaewon liked him back. He was positive. 

The video did leak, the other members intensely annoyed for not having been told before they’d agreed.

But nevertheless the repercussions were enough to get the CEO investigated and fired. Leaving Jaewon free and Wyld with a victim’s reputation as opposed to a playboy one. 

He saw the accounts tripping over themselves to apologize, and gave them no heed. Jaewon himself didn’t care, for once. Their new CEO’s first decision was to give them a longer break, citing that they should have time to rest. He’d thanked them for protecting Jaewon when his predecessor didn’t.

Jaewon still avoided the office like the plague when he could. Their CEO both understood and respected that, though he was a little chagrined by it. 

But back to Jaewon. He saw it in the little things, like remembering what Minsoo liked, or just the way his eyes curled fondly in ways they didn’t for anyone else. And he was beginning to think Jaewon had caught on to him.

Jaewon had been acting a little strangely since their last swap back, but it clearly wasn’t too problematic since they didn’t swap again. He wondered when that had become his indicator that something was wrong. Anyway, he found the second youngest often scrolling through the weather forecasts, looking for something. 

He wondered if it had to do with him suddenly asking Minsoo to meet him on the rooftop of the building they’d screamed confessions off of, at a time that felt like so much longer ago than it was.

It was raining again, taking him back to their first kiss. Was it their first? Did it mean anything at all? What did it mean? 

Jaewon slammed open the door, panting. His hands were on his knees and he looked over at Minsoo. He’d sent him a text that he’d arrived fifteen minutes before they’d planned to meet. But that kinda spontaneity was just who Minsoo was, wasn’t it?

He was standing there, smile on his face. There was everything and nothing in that smile and Jaewon found his confidence steadying. He’d planned for this. Today, there were no mouthpieces. Just him, his hyung, and the things he needed to say.

“Hey.”

“Hey yourself,” the elder smirked. Jaewon giggled. 

Time seemed to run them in circles, leaving them in the same position they started.

He looked over at the rain. It was chilly, but not something he wanted to do anything about. The elder idol was standing there, not in a raincoat. The sensible part of him was yelling to get inside. Everything else told him to do what he came here to.

Minsoo came closer, from the edge of the building. 

Jaewon took another step towards the silver-haired man. 

“I’ve been thinking, back to all the rooftops we’ve stood on. There’s one more thing I’ve wanted to fix.”

It was true. Some nights he woke up wondering why it wasn’t significant back then. But it was now. 

“What’s that?”

It was raining, but the chills only served to set his skin on fire.

“The last time we were standing in the rain on a rooftop-“ his hyung was so careful, so  _ gentle _ when it came to him. He treated him like something _precious_ , and there was _love_ in the way he held him. 

“I know.”

“So you’re saying...” his hyung seemed desperate for Jaewon to just say it.

“Kiss me,” his voice was a hoarse whisper. 

Nerves shaking, he licked his lips.

“ _Please_.”

And Minsoo kissed him.

There was rain around them, trying to carve between them, Jaewon ignored it. He’d held Minsoo’s body before, kissed those lips with his own before. But this time, everything was right. This wasn’t someone he was kissing because of Wyld and they wanted Wyld. No. He was kissing Minsoo because Lee Minsoo wanted _Ahn Jaewon_. And Ahn Jaewon wanted Lee Minsoo.

Sometimes, things can be that simple, can’t they?

When air ran out, they parted. Minsoo’s hands were laced behind his neck and a brilliant beam lit up his face. His hyung touched his forehead to Jaewon’s.

“Consider it fixed. Does this mean I can call myself yours now?”

“If you’ll have me.”

They looked at each other and smiled, not even needing to say a word.

And then, Minsoo hyung held his face and kissed him again.

The other members were more than just interested in them landing in a relationship. Daehyun bounced with childlike curiosity and Dongho smiled like Minsoo had thought Minsung would once upon a time, like a hyung. 

(“Jaewon hyung kissed you in the rain on purpose?!”

“Yes I did, Daehyunnie.”

“You’re telling me that you’ve had a “ginormous crush” on Jaewon after getting closer from a few days?”

“I said what I said!”

”It’s not like I was any different, hyung.”)

Jaewon and Minsoo weren’t really all too concerned at this point. They were finally free. Jaewon and Minsoo going on walks became a thing. And Minsoo peppering Jaewon with kisses to get advantages in video games did too. 

(“Hyung, that’s totally cheating at games!”

“But I’m getting kisses! So who’s the real winner?”

“Holy hell Minsoo hyung is rubbing off on him.”)

As a matter of fact, he was proud to announce that he found more of his ship with Jaewon than any other under the fanfiction tags. Jaewon found that he’d been so excited hilarious. And incredibly adorable.

It was a weird sort of change, that Jaewon cared less about the media and Minsoo less about his brother.

They never really did talk about him, because in the end, he’d become irrelevant.

(“Hah! I wouldn’t let him meet you because he doesn’t deserve to wipe your shoes!”

“H-hyung?!”

“I don’t feel like talking about another guy while I’m cuddling you.”

“That’s... okay. I can live with that.”)

His mom was more relieved that he had a boyfriend than that he had come out, Minsoo had said his parents’ approval didn’t mean as much as it used to, they could find out when they got the wedding invitation for all he cared.

(“W-wait! I do need to meet them sometime, though!”

“If it bugs you so much, I’ll set it up for you.”

“It’s just... aren’t they your parents?”

“I love them, but they’ve never given too much thought about my decisions. They wouldn’t care if I fell in love either.”

“Well I love you too, but that isn’t what we’re- _Mmph_!”)

Oh, speaking about that. There was a myth, a bit of precedent that was a bit older than an anime movie, about soulmates. They’d discovered it when they got ready for their next comeback, Jaewon having officially changed his stage name to his real one. Leaving Wyld behind for good.

(“So you’re saying the kiss was literally just an indicator test that the universe could intervene?”

“I think it was more for us than the universe.”

”I could live with that notion.”)

They disagreed about their first kiss. Jaewon said that their first was the one they’d had awkwardly and before they’d figured it out in the rain. Minsoo said it was their second, with what he called Jaewon’s Epic Confession to make him blush.

It didn’t matter, because things had worked out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BONUS:
> 
> They sat on the couch, Minsoo’s head in Jaewon’s lap, when the door slammed open. It was a very panicked Dongho.  
> Panicked?  
> Minsoo shot up and shared a worried look with his boyfriend.  
> A scowling Daehyun ambled in soon after.  
> Scowling?
> 
> Well shit.


End file.
